PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Sep 25th, 2026

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Free Report)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $142.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PepsiCo traded as low as $127.96 and last traded at $127.5910, with a volume of 88765 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $128.15.

PEP has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore set a $150.00 target price on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $178.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $134.00 price objective on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $162.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.65.

Read Our Latest Analysis on PepsiCo

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total value of $404,666.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,825 shares in the company, valued at $10,441,080.50. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

Positive Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound, with reported call volume well above typical levels. Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on PepsiCo
Neutral Sentiment: PepsiCo is scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 8. Analysts expect approximately $2.30 in earnings per share and $25 billion in revenue, making the report an important near-term catalyst. The company previously exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and reported 6.4% year-over-year revenue growth. PepsiCo Earnings Are Imminent
Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its PepsiCo price target to $142 from $145 while maintaining a Neutral rating. The revised target still implies potential upside from current levels, but the reduction reflects greater uncertainty around sales and pricing. Citigroup Adjusts Price Target on PepsiCo
Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo plans to raise prices on certain chips, dips, soda, and other snacks after earlier price cuts failed to stimulate sales. The reversal suggests that demand remains weak and could risk further volume declines or lost shelf space, while higher input costs are pressuring margins. PepsiCo to Lift Prices on Some Snacks
Negative Sentiment: The company is also closing a Maryland plant and eliminating 143 jobs amid weakening soda demand, adding to reports of PepsiCo facility closures and workforce reductions. The developments reinforce concerns about slowing consumer demand and operational restructuring. PepsiCo Shutters Maryland Plant

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 127,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,321,000 after purchasing an additional 12,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 987,582 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 24.4% in the second quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 11,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 23,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,220,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at $114,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $173.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The firm had revenue of $24.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. Analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is currently 77.59%.

About PepsiCo

(Get Free Report)

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) is a global food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. Its portfolio includes carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, bottled water, juices, ready-to-drink beverages, snack foods and convenient foods. Major brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Quaker and SodaStream.

The company sells products through a broad range of channels, including grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, food-service providers, vending operations and e-commerce platforms.