Diageo plc (LON:DGE) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Diageo plc (LON:DGE) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 2,876.67 ($37.30).

Several equities research analysts have commented on DGE shares. UBS Group raised shares of Diageo to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from GBX 2,300 ($29.82) to GBX 2,920 ($37.86) in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 2,500 ($32.42) price objective on shares of Diageo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo to a “buy” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($36.31) price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Diageo Price Performance

DGE opened at GBX 2,076.50 ($26.93) on Friday. The firm has a market cap of £46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.36. Diageo has a fifty-two week low of GBX 2,031.50 ($26.34) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 2,955.50 ($38.32). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 234.57, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 2,246.04 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 2,403.10.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a GBX 20.75 ($0.27) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is an increase from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Insider Transactions at Diageo

In related news, insider Nik Jhangiani sold 65,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,165 ($28.07), for a total value of £1,421,885.40 ($1,843,731.07). Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 19 shares of company stock valued at $43,455. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Diageo

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. It offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavoured malt beverages. The company also provides Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as ready to drink and non-alcoholic products.