Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Here’s Why

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)’s stock price traded up 1.4% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $160.95 and last traded at $160.4760. Approximately 7,477,801 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 9,720,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.26.

Key Procter & Gamble News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrade supports sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded PG from “hold” to “buy,” adding to the bullish case for the consumer-staples company. Freedom Broker upgrades Procter & Gamble to buy from hold
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly performance remains solid: P&G recently exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue increasing year over year. Organic sales growth was driven largely by higher product volumes, suggesting demand is holding up despite a challenging consumer environment. Procter & Gamble is accelerating revenue growth as its costs are rising
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see upside: Coverage following the latest quarter argues that P&G may be undervalued, with the earnings beat lifting expectations and reinforcing the company’s defensive growth and dividend appeal. Procter & Gamble stock may be undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: Bond issuance highlights financial flexibility: P&G sold multiyear fixed-rate notes in euro and dollar markets. The proceeds provide funding flexibility, but the issuance also puts attention on borrowing costs, leverage and the company’s relatively expensive valuation. Procter & Gamble bond sale puts valuation in focus
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution remains: DZ Bank downgraded PG from “strong-buy” to “hold,” reflecting potential concerns about the stock’s valuation after its recent gains. ETF investors were also net sellers on October 23, indicating some short-term institutional profit-taking. DZ Bank recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Costs could pressure margins: Rising commodity and operating costs remain a risk, potentially limiting the benefit of accelerating revenue unless P&G can offset inflation through pricing, productivity gains and favorable product mix. How Procter & Gamble is handling commodity costs

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Argus lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $149.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, August 24th. HSBC cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $182.00 to $149.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.57.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $371.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.76.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.0885 per share. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 4,181 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.71, for a total value of $671,928.51. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,815,380.16. This trade represents a 27.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Whaley sold 2,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.34, for a total value of $344,310.46. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,466,298.20. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,647 shares of company stock valued at $9,268,508. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baxter Bros Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $12,381,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $53,549,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,850,628,000. Capstone Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at approximately $991,000. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,914,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.