Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) Short Interest Up 24.3% in March

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,800,255 shares, a growth of 24.3% from the February 26th total of 3,056,944 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,326,831 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Diageo Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of DEO traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,595,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,005,642. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.34. Diageo has a one year low of $72.45 and a one year high of $116.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a yield of 207.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diageo

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DEO. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Diageo by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 48,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Diageo during the 4th quarter valued at $412,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in Diageo by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Diageo by 90.2% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 46,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,976,000 after purchasing an additional 21,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DEO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $124.00 price target on shares of Diageo and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Argus upgraded Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, HSBC lowered Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.50.

About Diageo

Diageo plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic beverages, headquartered in London, England. The company was created through the 1997 merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc and is publicly traded on multiple exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange. Diageo operates a worldwide business, selling products in a broad range of markets across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Diageo’s core activities cover the production, marketing and sale of a diverse portfolio of spirits, beer and liqueurs.