Analysts Set Diageo plc (LON:DGE) PT at GBX 2,948

Shares of Diageo plc (LON:DGE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 2,948 ($37.64).

Several analysts recently weighed in on DGE shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,000 ($38.30) price objective on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($35.75) price target on shares of Diageo in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Diageo from GBX 3,550 ($45.33) to GBX 3,640 ($46.48) and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Diageo from GBX 2,500 ($31.92) to GBX 2,100 ($26.81) and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Diageo Stock Performance

Diageo has a fifty-two week low of GBX 2,165.60 ($27.65) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 3,379 ($43.14). The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 2,522.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 2,734.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 190.59, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of £54.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,698.96, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.33.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This is an increase from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.41. This represents a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. Diageo’s payout ratio is presently 5,625.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diageo news, insider Javier Ferrán bought 314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,640 ($33.71) per share, for a total transaction of £8,289.60 ($10,584.27). Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.