Brokerages Set Diageo plc (LON:DGE) PT at GBX 3,008

Shares of Diageo plc (LON:DGE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com 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 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,008 ($39.05).

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Diageo to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from GBX 2,100 ($27.27) to GBX 2,400 ($31.16) in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,000 ($38.95) price target on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 3,200 ($41.55) price objective on shares of Diageo in a report on Thursday, August 22nd.

Diageo Stock Performance

DGE opened at GBX 2,569 ($33.35) on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 186.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 2,528.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 2,598.60. The firm has a market capitalization of £57.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,949.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.36. Diageo has a 12-month low of GBX 2,165.60 ($28.12) and a 12-month high of GBX 3,268.50 ($42.44).

Diageo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a yield of 1.92%. This is an increase from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.41. Diageo’s payout ratio is currently 5,984.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Diageo news, insider Javier Ferrán purchased 324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 2,531 ($32.86) per share, for a total transaction of £8,200.44 ($10,647.16). In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 669 shares of company stock worth $1,663,218. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.