Diageo plc (LON:DGE) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Diageo plc (LON:DGE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,008 ($40.24).

DGE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,000 ($40.13) price objective on shares of Diageo in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Diageo to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from GBX 2,100 ($28.09) to GBX 2,400 ($32.10) in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 3,200 ($42.80) price objective on shares of Diageo in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($37.45) target price on shares of Diageo in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th.

Insider Transactions at Diageo

In related news, insider Javier Ferrán acquired 339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 2,444 ($32.69) per share, for a total transaction of £8,285.16 ($11,082.34). Insiders acquired a total of 351 shares of company stock worth $858,066 over the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Diageo Price Performance

LON DGE opened at GBX 2,615.50 ($34.99) on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of £58.06 billion, a PE ratio of 1,997.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.36. Diageo has a 12-month low of GBX 2,165.60 ($28.97) and a 12-month high of GBX 3,268.50 ($43.72). The company has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 2,483.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 2,633.83.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This is an increase from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.41. This represents a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. 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.