TD Cowen Issues Positive Forecast for PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price objective upped by TD Cowen from $155.00 to $162.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on PepsiCo from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $164.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.28.

PepsiCo Price Performance

Shares of PEP opened at $166.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $146.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.40. PepsiCo has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $167.94.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 57.92%. The business had revenue of $29.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $1.4225 dividend. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is presently 108.17%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new position in PepsiCo in the third quarter valued at approximately $872,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in PepsiCo by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 185,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 29.4% during the second quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 8,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PepsiCo by 122.6% in the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 11,217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations and management reiterated FY‑2026 guidance — revenue and adjusted EPS topped estimates, driven by international soda strength and improving beverage momentum. This beat is the primary fundamental catalyst supporting the rally. PepsiCo tops quarterly revenue estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program (≈4.7% of shares outstanding), signaling management believes shares are undervalued and providing buyback-driven EPS support. RTT News on buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raised — board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.4225 per share, a 5% increase year-over-year, reinforcing income appeal for dividend investors. PepsiCo Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms raised price targets (JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, Barclays among others), which can support momentum and attract allocation flows. Analyst price-target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo will cut suggested retail prices on major snacks (Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos) by as much as 15% to boost affordability and volume ahead of big consumption events — a deliberate trade of price for share/volume that could help demand but pressures near-term margins. After Years of Increases, PepsiCo Pledges to Cut Prices on Snacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic initiatives (tests to integrate beverage/snack distribution, trimming SKUs ~20%, refocusing top brands) aim to lift margins and execution — positive long-term if executed, but results are still early. MarketBeat strategic summary
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish/critical takes argue the rally is multiple expansion rather than improving volumes — price-led growth in Q4 and the new price cuts raise execution risk and could compress margins; some analysts/voices label the setup risky for new buyers. Seeking Alpha — Strong Sell
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/structural headwinds to snack volumes (e.g., consumer affordability pressures, GLP‑1–related demand shifts cited by commentators) remain a watch item; management is banking on price cuts and product focus to recover volumes. Jim Cramer commentary

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.