Diageo (LON:DGE) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Diageo plc (LON:DGE) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,046 ($26.53) and last traded at GBX 2,047.50 ($26.55), with a volume of 51615719 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,080 ($26.97).

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on DGE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 2,500 ($32.42) price objective on shares of Diageo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Diageo to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from GBX 2,300 ($29.82) to GBX 2,920 ($37.86) in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Diageo to a “buy” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($36.31) price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 2,876.67 ($37.30).

Diageo Stock Up 0.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 234.57. The firm has a market cap of £46.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 2,246.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 2,403.10.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a GBX 20.75 ($0.27) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is an increase from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Diageo’s payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nik Jhangiani sold 65,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,165 ($28.07), for a total value of £1,421,885.40 ($1,843,731.07). Insiders have purchased 19 shares of company stock valued at $43,455 over the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is 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.