Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and sells alcoholic beverages worldwide. The company offers scotch, whisky, gin, vodka, rum, ready to drink products, Irish cream liqueur, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Canadian whisky, American whiskey, cachaca, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and non-alcoholic products. It provides its products under the Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray, and Guinness brands. The company has operations in North America, Europe, Turkey, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1886 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Diageo Stock Performance
Shares of DEO Stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $188.96. 403,136 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,452. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $179.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.60. Diageo has a 52-week low of $166.24 and a 52-week high of $223.14.
Diageo Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 26th will be given a $2.2775 dividend. This is a positive change from Diageo's previous semi-annual dividend of $1.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 25th. This represents a yield of 2%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DEO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Diageo from GBX 5,040 ($60.90) to GBX 5,430 ($65.61) in a research report on Friday, July 29th. Societe Generale raised their target price on Diageo from GBX 4,250 ($51.35) to GBX 4,500 ($54.37) in a research report on Tuesday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Diageo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Diageo from GBX 4,500 ($54.37) to GBX 4,100 ($49.54) in a research report on Tuesday, June 28th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets cut Diageo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4,192.50.