Nestlé (OTCMKTS:NSRGY) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by BNP Paribas

Nestlé (OTCMKTS:NSRGY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at BNP Paribas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Nestlé from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Nestlé to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Nestlé from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Nestlé from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nestlé currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.00.

Nestlé Stock Performance

Shares of NSRGY traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.74. 855,608 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average is $99.81 and its 200-day moving average is $91.99. Nestlé has a 1 year low of $80.11 and a 1 year high of $110.46.

Institutional Trading of Nestlé

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSRGY. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nestlé in the 4th quarter valued at $386,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nestlé by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 107,788 shares of the company's stock worth $8,806,000 after acquiring an additional 10,523 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nestlé during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Raelipskie Partnership lifted its position in Nestlé by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 17,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Nestlé by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 11,295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Nestlé Company Profile

Nestlé SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and beverage company. The company operates through Zone North America; Zone Europe; Zone Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Zone Latin America; Zone Greater China; Nespresso; and Nestlé Health Science segments. It offers baby foods under the Cerelac, Gerber, Nido, and NaturNes brands; bottled water under the Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, Vittel, Buxton, Erikli, and S.Pellegrino brands; cereals under the Fitness, Nesquik, cheerios, and Lion Cereals brands; and chocolate and confectionery products under the KitKat, Smarties, Aero, Nestlé Les Recettes de l'Atelier, Milkybar, Baci Perugina, Quality Street, and Fitness brands.