Diageo (NYSE:DEO) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on DEO. Loop Capital set a $99.00 price target on Diageo in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Diageo Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DEO opened at $88.90 on Monday. Diageo has a 1 year low of $72.45 and a 1 year high of $116.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diageo

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Diageo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Diageo by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Diageo by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 212,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,653 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 87.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo in the 2nd quarter worth $444,000. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diageo Company Profile

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.