Diageo (NYSE:DEO) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Diageo (NYSE:DEO – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Diageo from GBX 5,010 ($61.06) to GBX 5,100 ($62.16) in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on shares of Diageo from GBX 4,500 ($54.84) to GBX 4,200 ($51.19) in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Diageo from GBX 3,160 ($38.51) to GBX 2,750 ($33.52) in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Diageo from GBX 4,350 ($53.02) to GBX 4,500 ($54.84) in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4,081.00.

Diageo Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of DEO opened at $169.90 on Thursday. Diageo has a 1-year low of $160.09 and a 1-year high of $212.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $176.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.60.

Institutional Trading of Diageo

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 98,968.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,023,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021,926 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,725,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $663,848,000 after purchasing an additional 433,105 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 77.8% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 837,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,869,000 after purchasing an additional 366,488 shares in the last quarter. Pendal Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 1,258.5% in the fourth quarter. Pendal Group Ltd now owns 253,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,352,000 after purchasing an additional 235,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,520,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

About Diageo

(Get Rating)

Diageo Plc engages in the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Its brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JeB, Buchanan’s, Windsor and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray, and Guinness. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America; Europe and Turkey; Africa; Latin America and Caribbean; Asia Pacific; ISC; and Corporate and Other.