Diageo (LON:DGE) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Diageo plc (LON:DGE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,046 ($26.60) and last traded at GBX 2,047.50 ($26.62), with a volume of 51615719 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,080 ($27.04).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Diageo to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from GBX 2,300 ($29.90) to GBX 2,920 ($37.96) in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo to a “buy” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($36.40) target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 2,500 ($32.50) target price on shares of Diageo in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diageo has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 2,876.67 ($37.40).

Diageo Trading Down 1.9 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 2,265.42. The stock has a market cap of £45.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 234.57, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 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 payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diageo

In related news, insider Nik Jhangiani sold 65,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,165 ($28.15), for a total transaction of £1,421,885.40 ($1,848,524.96). Insiders bought a total of 19 shares of company stock worth $43,455 in the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.