Diageo (NYSE:DEO) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $81.67, but opened at $84.90. Diageo shares last traded at $84.4780, with a volume of 236,115 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DEO. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Cowen upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $88.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Diageo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Diageo Stock Up 1.6%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.66 and a 200 day moving average of $84.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diageo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DEO. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Diageo by 428.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,173,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,469,000 after buying an additional 1,762,027 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Diageo by 236.6% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,157,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,772,000 after acquiring an additional 813,973 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Diageo by 48.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,701,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,410,000 after acquiring an additional 555,509 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Diageo during the fourth quarter worth about $46,763,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Diageo during the first quarter worth about $37,225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Company Profile

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.