Diageo plc (LON:DGE) Receives GBX 2,876.67 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Diageo plc (LON:DGE) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 2,876.67 ($37.15).

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo to a “buy” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($36.16) price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 2,500 ($32.28) target price on shares of Diageo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Diageo to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from GBX 2,300 ($29.70) to GBX 2,920 ($37.71) in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of DGE opened at GBX 2,064.50 ($26.66) on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 234.57, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is GBX 2,237.81. Diageo has a 52 week low of GBX 2,031.50 ($26.23) and a 52 week high of GBX 2,955.50 ($38.17). The firm has a market capitalization of £45.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.36.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of GBX 20.75 ($0.27) per share. This is a positive change from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.63. This represents a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diageo

In other news, insider Nik Jhangiani sold 65,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,165 ($27.96), for a total transaction of £1,421,885.40 ($1,836,112.35). Over the last three months, insiders purchased 19 shares of company stock valued at $43,455. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.