Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Nestle (OTCMKTS:NSRGY) to Hold

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has upgraded Nestle (OTCMKTS:NSRGY) from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a more favorable outlook for the company.
• BNP Paribas has also adjusted its rating for Nestle to "hold," while Morgan Stanley downgraded it to "underweight" with a price target of $91.00, indicating some mixed sentiments from analysts.
• Recent institutional activity shows a number of hedge funds increasing their stakes in Nestle, highlighting continued investment interest despite the rating fluctuations.

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nestle (OTCMKTS:NSRGY - Free Report) from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NSRGY. BNP Paribas cut shares of Nestle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered Nestle from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nestle presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.00.

Nestle Stock Performance

Shares of Nestle stock traded up $1.06 on Friday, hitting $89.16. 436,981 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 687,451. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Nestle has a 1-year low of $80.11 and a 1-year high of $109.31.

Institutional Trading of Nestle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NSRGY. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nestle by 4.2% in the second quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Nestle in the second quarter valued at approximately $465,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nestle by 7.6% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 37,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nestle by 24.7% in the second quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 5,985 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its holdings in shares of Nestle by 114.9% during the second quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 9,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.61% of the company's stock.

About Nestle

Nestlé SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and beverage company. The company operates through Zone North America; Zone Europe; Zone Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Zone Latin America; Zone Greater China; Nespresso; and Nestlé Health Science segments. It offers baby foods under the Cerelac, Gerber, Nido, and NaturNes brands; bottled water under the Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, Vittel, Buxton, Erikli, and S.Pellegrino brands; cereals under the Fitness, Nesquik, cheerios, and Lion Cereals brands; and chocolate and confectionery products under the KitKat, Smarties, Aero, Nestlé Les Recettes de l'Atelier, Milkybar, Baci Perugina, Quality Street, and Fitness brands.