Diageo plc (LON:DGE) Receives GBX 2,948 Average PT from Brokerages

Diageo plc (LON:DGE) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,008 ($38.41).

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,000 ($38.30) price objective on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Diageo to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from GBX 2,100 ($26.81) to GBX 2,400 ($30.64) in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($35.75) target price on shares of Diageo in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Diageo from GBX 3,550 ($45.33) to GBX 3,640 ($46.48) and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Diageo Trading Up 0.7 %

Diageo stock opened at GBX 2,487.22 ($31.76) on Thursday. Diageo has a 52-week low of GBX 2,165.60 ($27.65) and a 52-week high of GBX 3,339.50 ($42.64). The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 190.59. The firm has a market capitalization of £55.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,734.38, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 2,515.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 2,729.74.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a positive change from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.41. This represents a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. Diageo’s payout ratio is presently 5,625.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diageo

In other Diageo news, insider Javier Ferrán acquired 314 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 2,640 ($33.71) per share, with a total value of £8,289.60 ($10,584.27). In the last three months, insiders acquired 326 shares of company stock valued at $858,510. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Diageo Company Profile

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.