Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Upgraded at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Freedom Broker currently has $176.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PG. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $149.00 price objective (down from $182.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Argus downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.90.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $161.21 on Friday. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $137.62 and a 12-month high of $167.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.12. The company has a market capitalization of $373.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $23.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.80 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 31.02% and a net margin of 18.23%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.98 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Friday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.0885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.51%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CAO Matthew Janzaruk sold 359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total value of $52,141.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,600.04. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Paul Gama sold 2,225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.34, for a total transaction of $323,381.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,430,362.16. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,135 shares of company stock worth $2,189,970. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Paladin Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Toews Corp ADV bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Procter & Gamble

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised targets and maintained bullish ratings. UBS lifted its target to $190 and retained a Buy rating, while Citigroup raised its target to $187, BNP Paribas Exane to $189, and JPMorgan to $180. Freedom Broker also upgraded PG from Hold to Buy with a $176 target. These revisions suggest analysts believe the earnings improvement and resilient demand can support further gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q1 results exceeded expectations. Adjusted EPS was $2.00 versus the $1.89 consensus, while revenue increased 4% year over year to $23.28 billion, topping estimates of approximately $22.80 billion. Organic sales also grew 4%, with volume contributing 2.4 percentage points. Procter & Gamble earnings beat as sales rise 4%
• Positive Sentiment: Demand and operating trends remain encouraging. Stronger volumes, favorable product mix, productivity savings, and resilient laundry and home-product sales supported the quarter. Investors also continue to value PG’s defensive business mix and 70-year record of dividend increases. P&G dividend history
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 guidance was mixed. The company raised its all-in sales-growth outlook, partly reflecting the Thorne acquisition, but projected revenue of $86.0 billion to $87.7 billion remains below the roughly $88.8 billion consensus. EPS guidance of $6.89 to $7.11 brackets expectations of $6.98.
• Negative Sentiment: Commodity and energy inflation remain the main risks. Higher oil, raw-material, transportation, and energy costs are expected to create an estimated $1.4 billion headwind and pressure margins. TD Cowen raised its target to $166 but kept a Hold rating, warning that cost inflation could limit the recovery. P&G commodity cost outlook

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) is a global consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care. Its portfolio includes personal health and grooming products, beauty and skin care items, baby, feminine and family care products, fabric and home care products, and oral care products.

The company’s well-known brands include Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Crest, Oral-B, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Olay, Old Spice, Dawn, Febreze and Mr.