Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

A number of research firms recently commented on UL. Zacks Research downgraded Unilever from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 1.0% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 0.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of Unilever by 0.5% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 35,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 1.9% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $62.28 on Friday. Unilever has a fifty-two week low of $54.32 and a fifty-two week high of $65.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.75.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.5175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.31%.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.