Diageo plc (LON:DGE) Receives GBX 3,008 Consensus PT from Analysts

Diageo plc (LON:DGE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,008 ($40.28).

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DGE shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,000 ($40.17) price target on shares of Diageo in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 3,200 ($42.85) price target on shares of Diageo in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($37.49) price objective on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Diageo to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from GBX 2,100 ($28.12) to GBX 2,400 ($32.14) in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Insider Transactions at Diageo

In other news, insider Javier Ferrán acquired 339 shares of Diageo stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 2,444 ($32.73) per share, with a total value of £8,285.16 ($11,094.22). Insiders have acquired 351 shares of company stock valued at $858,066 in the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diageo Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Diageo stock opened at GBX 2,653 ($35.52) on Friday. Diageo has a 1 year low of GBX 2,165.60 ($29.00) and a 1 year high of GBX 3,268.50 ($43.77). The company has a market cap of £58.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 2,025.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 186.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 2,479.98 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 2,637.91.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. This is an increase from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.41. Diageo’s payout ratio is currently 6,106.87%.

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.