Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the January 15th total of 974,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEO traded down $1.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $107.45. 864,158 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,096,495. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $121.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.99. Diageo has a 52-week low of $105.72 and a 52-week high of $154.71.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diageo

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DEO. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 158,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,234,000 after acquiring an additional 6,617 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 88,407.3% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 8,113,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,465,000 after acquiring an additional 8,104,301 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 65,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,248,000 after acquiring an additional 16,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,242,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,671,000 after acquiring an additional 437,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tevis Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Diageo by 159.7% during the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 13,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 8,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diageo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

About Diageo

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The company offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavored malt beverages. It also provides Chinese, Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as flavored malt beverages, ready to drink, and non-alcoholic products.