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

Diageo plc (LON:DGE) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 2,876.67 ($37.24).

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGE. Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo to a “buy” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($36.25) target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 2,500 ($32.37) price target on shares of Diageo in a 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 ($29.78) to GBX 2,920 ($37.80) in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diageo news, insider Nik Jhangiani sold 65,676 shares of Diageo stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,165 ($28.03), for a total value of £1,421,885.40 ($1,840,866.65). Over the last three months, insiders purchased 19 shares of company stock worth $43,455. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diageo Price Performance

DGE stock opened at GBX 2,032 ($26.31) on Friday. The firm has a market cap of £45.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 234.57, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.94. Diageo has a 1 year low of GBX 2,027.70 ($26.25) and a 1 year high of GBX 2,955.50 ($38.26). The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 2,225.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 2,392.71.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is an increase from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.63. This represents a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.25%.

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.