Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 92,829 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 296% compared to the typical daily volume of 23,471 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $162.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $181.00 to $178.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.40.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PepsiCo stock opened at $139.41 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $190.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo has a 12-month low of $132.96 and a 12-month high of $171.48.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The firm had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from PepsiCo’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 92.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in PepsiCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Networth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PepsiCo by 2,857.1% during the first quarter. Networth Advisors LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo reported progress toward its 2030 Positive Agriculture goals, including more regenerative farming, sustainable sourcing, and livelihood improvements across its supply chain. PepsiCo Announces Progress Toward 2030 Agriculture Goals
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed strong bullish speculation, with investors buying a large volume of PepsiCo call options, suggesting some traders expect a rebound. Investors Buy Large Volume of PepsiCo Call Options (NASDAQ:PEP)
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary continues to argue PepsiCo has meaningful upside from current levels, reinforcing the case for a value-style rebound. Pepsi Price Prediction: The Case for 20%+ Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo opened a new flavour manufacturing facility in India, which supports its international growth and supply-chain footprint but is not an immediate earnings catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo also drew attention for AI and driverless-truck delivery initiatives, which could improve efficiency over time but are still mostly long-term operational developments.
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank trimmed its FY2027 EPS estimate for PepsiCo, adding to concerns that growth may remain sluggish and earnings momentum limited.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from analysts and media outlets has centered on PepsiCo’s slower growth profile, which may be pressuring sentiment toward the stock. PepsiCo Moves To Hold As Growth Questions Persist

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.