Diageo (NYSE:DEO) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Diageo (NYSE:DEO) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Diageo in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $99.00 target price on shares of Diageo in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Diageo Price Performance

NYSE DEO opened at $93.69 on Tuesday. Diageo has a 12 month low of $72.45 and a 12 month high of $113.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $86.78 and its 200 day moving average is $84.11.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diageo

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Diageo by 17.0% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Diageo by 5.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 212,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,653 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Diageo by 87.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Diageo during the second quarter valued at $444,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

About Diageo

Diageo plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic beverages, headquartered in London, England. The company was created through the 1997 merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc and is publicly traded on multiple exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange. Diageo operates a worldwide business, selling products in a broad range of markets across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Diageo’s core activities cover the production, marketing and sale of a diverse portfolio of spirits, beer and liqueurs.