Short Interest in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) Decreases By 28.3%

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 832,200 shares, a decrease of 28.3% from the January 31st total of 1,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DEO. UBS Group raised shares of Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Diageo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Diageo from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diageo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Diageo in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Diageo in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of Diageo by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Diageo in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.97% of the company’s stock.

Diageo Stock Performance

NYSE:DEO traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $109.50. 490,633 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,074,839. Diageo has a twelve month low of $105.72 and a twelve month high of $151.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $117.39 and a 200 day moving average of $124.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Diageo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Diageo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.42%.

About Diageo

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