PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, TD Cowen Analyst Says

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $155.00 to $162.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.30% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PepsiCo from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their target price on PepsiCo from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, January 9th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.28.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $167.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.10. PepsiCo has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $168.01. The company has a market capitalization of $228.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.40.

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

PepsiCo declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and reiterated guidance — PepsiCo topped EPS and revenue estimates for Q4 and kept FY2026 guidance intact, which underpins investor confidence in near-term results. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — A number of banks raised targets and/or ratings after the quarter (notable raises: UBS to $190, Morgan Stanley to $180, JPMorgan to $176, HSBC to $175), signaling improved sell‑side sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large $10B buyback approved — Board authorized $10 billion in repurchases (≈4.7% of shares), which supports EPS and signals management confidence in valuation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — Quarterly dividend raised to $1.4225 (5% YoY), keeping Pepsi in the Dividend Kings camp and attractive to income investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Productivity/efficiency tailwinds — Management is leaning on automation, distribution integration and SKU rationalization to offset inflation and expand margins, which analysts and outlets flag as a catalyst for EPS expansion. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic repositioning highlighted — MarketBeat and others note Pepsi is focusing on top brands, health-oriented SKUs and distribution tests (no full refranchising). These are longer-term actions that support the thesis but require execution. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Snack price cuts / consumer backlash — Pepsi will cut prices on certain US snacks (reports cite up to 15%) to drive volumes; this is framed as a “price investment” but risks near-term margin dilution and has drawn critical press and analyst scrutiny. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary on margin trade-off — Some analysts/commentators argue recent multiple expansion prices in a recovery that may require trading margin certainty for volume growth, raising execution risk for new buyers. Read More.

PepsiCo Company Profile

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.