Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) Receives $116.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $116.50.

DEO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Diageo from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Argus upgraded Diageo to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Diageo from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Equity Investment Corp purchased a new position in Diageo in the third quarter valued at about $92,970,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Diageo by 7.2% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 726,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,337,000 after purchasing an additional 48,909 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Diageo by 42.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 99,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,099,000 after purchasing an additional 29,674 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Diageo by 0.9% in the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,363,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,119,000 after purchasing an additional 12,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. purchased a new position in Diageo in the third quarter valued at about $14,329,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of DEO stock opened at $81.90 on Tuesday. Diageo has a 1-year low of $72.45 and a 1-year high of $116.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.61.

Diageo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%.

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.