Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, July 31st.
According to Zacks, “PepsiCo reported second-quarter 2017 results with both earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.9% and 0.4%, respectively. On a year-over-year basis, core earnings and revenues grew 10% and 2%, respectively, defying the difficult global macro industry slowdown. The upside was primarily driven by higher pricing, partly offsetting the weak demand. Revenues increased 3.1% on an organic basis, primarily driven by higher demand in Latin America and Europe Sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, organic sales growth was higher than the 2.1% rise recorded in the previous quarter. The company also maintained its 2017 core EPS growth rate of 8% on 3% top-line growth, partly offset by 2% FX headwind for both EPS and revenues, echoing the ongoing macro challenges outside the U.S. Despite challenges, Pepsi has been doing well on the back of major innovation, ongoing revenue management strategies, improved productivity and better market execution.”
A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PEP. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 price objective (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Pepsico in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. BidaskClub lowered Pepsico from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 1st. Vetr raised Pepsico from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $125.54 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Pepsico and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Finally, UBS AG upgraded shares of Pepsico from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Pepsico has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.40.
Shares of Pepsico (PEP) traded down 0.67% on Monday, reaching $117.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,776,515 shares. Pepsico has a 12-month low of $98.50 and a 12-month high of $119.39. The company has a market capitalization of $167.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $116.16 and its 200 day moving average is $113.32. Pepsico also was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 1,176 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 536% compared to the typical daily volume of 185 call options.
Pepsico (NYSE:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 11th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.10. Pepsico had a return on equity of 59.74% and a net margin of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $15.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pepsico will post $5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
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In related news, Chairman Indra K. Nooyi sold 452,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.44, for a total transaction of $52,727,525.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 733,315 shares in the company, valued at $85,387,198.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Indra K. Nooyi sold 340,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.42, for a total transaction of $39,635,072.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 733,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,372,532.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 898,164 shares of company stock valued at $104,585,929. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnett & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pepsico by 270.4% in the second quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pepsico during the second quarter worth $111,000. Asset Planning Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Pepsico by 66.1% in the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. now owns 1,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new position in shares of Pepsico during the fourth quarter worth $125,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Pepsico by 14.9% in the first quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.19% of the company’s stock.
About Pepsico
PepsiCo, Inc is a global food and beverage company. The Company’s portfolio of brands includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. The Company operates through six segments: Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA), North America Beverages (NAB), Latin America, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA), and Asia, Middle East and North Africa (AMENA).
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