Short Interest in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) Increases By 32.9%

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 3,056,944 shares, an increase of 32.9% from the February 12th total of 2,299,462 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,762,092 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,762,092 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Diageo by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 48,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,196,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Advisortrust Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo during the fourth quarter valued at about $412,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Diageo by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of Diageo in the fourth quarter worth about $118,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in Diageo by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 46,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,976,000 after purchasing an additional 21,853 shares during the period. 8.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diageo Price Performance

DEO traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $77.37. 1,731,935 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,377,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.31. Diageo has a 12 month low of $75.77 and a 12 month high of $116.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on DEO. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $124.00 price objective on Diageo and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Diageo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. HSBC downgraded shares of Diageo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Diageo in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Diageo in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Diageo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.50.

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.