IFF is your better choice for new buying

Article Excerpt

PepsiCo continues to rebound strongly from its pandemic-induced lows as restaurants re-open. However, rising input costs could slow its earnings growth. That’s why we prefer companies, such as IFF, that directly benefit from rising food ingredient prices. PEPSICO INC. $170 is still a hold. The company (Nasdaq symbol PEP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $238.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pepsico.com) is the world’s second-largest soft-drink maker after Coca-Cola. Other brands include Frito-Lay snack foods, Gatorade sports drinks, and Quaker Oats cereals. The company continues to shift its portfolio to faster-growing products. In the past few years, it paid $3.3 billion for SodaStream International, known for carbonation systems that let consumers make sodas at home, and $3.85 billion for energy-drinks maker Rockstar Energy Beverages. Those purchases increased its long-term debt from $29.1 billion at the end of 2019 to $41.3 billion as of September 30, 2021. That’s still a moderate 17% of its market…