PREVIEW: Procter & Gamble shares ease; co due to report results early Thurs

Procter & Gamble PG.N shares down nearly 2% late afternoon on Wed, easing along with other consumer staples stocks, with PG set to report quarterly results before the opening bell on Thurs

PG and other staples stocks were also bucking the broader trend in the market, with the S&P 500 .SPX last up 1.5% and the S&P consumer staples index .SPLRCS down 0.8%

Analysts on an average expect quarterly rev for PG of $20.105 bln, down vs $20.195 bln a yr ago, and they expect EPS of $1.53/shr vs $1.52 a yr ago, according to LSEG

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Procter & Gamble has been identified as the subject of an EU antitrust regulators' investigation initiated last month that had also targeted Coca-Cola bottlers

Analyst recommendations on PG include 18 "strong buy" or "buy" ratings and 11 "hold" ratings

The median PT on PG is $185; the stock was last at $165.04

PG options imply a 3.7% swing for the shares, in either direction, by Fri; that compares with a 2.5% avg move for the shares on the day of results, over the last eight qtrs, according to Trade Alert

The stock has been outperforming the broader market this yr so far, down 1.7% YTD compared with a roughly 7% fall in the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI in that period