PepsiCo faces two challenges

Article Excerpt

PEPSICO INC. $168 is a hold. The company (Nasdaq symbol PEP; Conservative-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $235.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.pepsico.com) is the world’s second-largest soft-drink maker after Coca-Cola. Its other brands include Frito-Lay snacks, Gatorade sports drinks, and Quaker Oats cereals. With the June 2024 payment, PepsiCo raised your quarterly dividend by 7.1%, to $1.355 a share from $1.265. The new annual rate of $5.42 a share yields 3.2%. The company has now increased the dividend annually for the past 52 years. PepsiCo expects its sales will improve about 4% in 2024. It also expects earnings will rise 7%, to $8.16 a share, and the stock trades at a reasonable 20.6 times that estimate. However, rising inflation is prompting cost-conscious consumers to switch to cheaper brands of sodas and snacks. That will probably force PepsiCo to cut its selling prices. The company’s sales could also suffer as new weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic…