PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Jumps 1.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• PepsiCo shares rose 1.5% to about $129.27 on above-average trading volume, but the stock remains near its 52-week low and below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• The company beat third-quarter expectations, reporting $2.34 in EPS and $25.27 billion in revenue, while international operations performed well. However, weaker North American beverage and snack volumes, margin pressure, and reduced full-year growth guidance remain significant concerns.
• PepsiCo’s approximately 4.6% dividend yield and 54-year streak of increases support its defensive-income appeal, but analysts remain cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $145.50, and several firms recently reduced their targets.

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $129.36 and last traded at $129.27. 9,358,536 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 8,114,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.30.

Key Headlines Impacting PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo exceeded third-quarter 2026 revenue and earnings expectations, while its international operations continued to perform well. The stock’s valuation near 16 times earnings and dividend yield of approximately 4.7% could attract income-oriented investors. PepsiCo's Earnings Beat Masks a Bigger Problem With Its North American Business
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded PepsiCo from “hold” to “strong buy,” highlighting the potential for a recovery after the stock’s decline and its discounted valuation relative to major peers.
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s 54-year record of dividend increases and higher yield than Coca-Cola continue to support the investment case for defensive-income investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent comparisons with Coca-Cola suggest PepsiCo offers more income, but Coca-Cola has stronger current execution after raising its earnings outlook. This may limit PepsiCo’s valuation recovery until growth improves. Coca-Cola vs. PepsiCo: Which Dividend King Deserves a Premium Valuation Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo lowered its full-year growth outlook as North American beverage and snack volumes weakened and costs pressured margins. The guidance reduction overshadows the quarterly earnings beat and raises concerns about the pace of recovery. PepsiCo Trades Near 52-Week Low
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target from $133 to $126 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. Erste Group Bank also reduced its FY2027 EPS estimate, reinforcing concerns about slower earnings growth.
• Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo reduced the potential earnout valuation tied to its Poppi acquisition, indicating that the prebiotic soda brand may be falling short of growth targets. The stock remains near its 52-week low, with investors questioning whether the weakness is fully priced in.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $133.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on PepsiCo from $176.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on PepsiCo from $138.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.50.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $176.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $134.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.94.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 8th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.05. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 53.08% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $25.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.344-8.425 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total value of $404,666.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,441,080.50. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,015,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,377 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company's stock worth $8,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 987,582 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 14,857.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company's stock worth $7,068,777,000 after purchasing an additional 48,923,629 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,283,701 shares of the company's stock worth $3,305,146,000 after purchasing an additional 133,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 16.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,444,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,777,243,000 after buying an additional 1,647,506 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc NASDAQ: PEP is a global food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of snacks, drinks and convenient foods. Its beverage brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, 7UP in select markets, and bubly, while its food and snack brands include Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Fritos, Quaker and Ruffles.

The company's operations include beverage production and distribution, snack foods, convenient meals and nutrition-oriented products.

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