Diageo (LON:DGE) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Diageo plc (LON:DGE) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 0 ($0.00) and traded as high as GBX 2,089.50 ($27.16). Diageo shares last traded at GBX 2,080.50 ($27.05), with a volume of 3,236,259 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 2,500 ($32.50) target price on shares of Diageo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Diageo to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from GBX 2,300 ($29.90) to GBX 2,920 ($37.96) in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Diageo to a “buy” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($36.40) price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 2,876.67 ($37.40).

Diageo Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 2,265.42. The stock has a market capitalization of £45.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 234.57.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of GBX 20.75 ($0.27) per share. This is a positive change from Diageo’s previous dividend of $0.63. This represents a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Diageo’s payout ratio is 44.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nik Jhangiani sold 65,676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,165 ($28.15), for a total value of £1,421,885.40 ($1,848,524.96). Insiders acquired a total of 19 shares of company stock worth $43,455 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diageo Company Profile

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and sale of alcoholic beverages. It offers scotch, gin, vodka, rum, raki, liqueur, wine, tequila, Chinese white spirits, cachaça, and brandy, as well as beer, including cider and flavoured malt beverages. The company also provides Canadian, Irish, American, and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor whiskies, as well as ready to drink and non-alcoholic products.