Niche helps Diageo hedge its bets

Article Excerpt

DIAGEO PLC ADR $169 (New York symbol DEO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; ADRs outstanding: 629.0 million; Market cap: $106.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 7.9; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.diageo.com) is a leading maker of premium alcoholic beverages. Its main brands include Guinness beer, Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker scotch and Bailey’s liqueur. The company has paid an undisclosed sum for a majority stake in U.K.-based Seedlip. It makes non-alcoholic beverages (that taste like gin and whisky) by distilling herbs and other plant products. The purchase will help Diageo profit as aging baby boomers drink less alcohol . The stock trades at 23.5 times the $7.18 per ADR that the company should earn in the year ending June 30, 2020. That’s a somewhat high p/e as U.K.’s plan to leave the EU (Brexit) could disrupt its operations. Diageo is still a hold. hold…