Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 2,171 ($27.03).

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 1,810 ($22.53) target price on shares of Imperial Brands in a research note on Monday.

Imperial Brands Stock Performance

Imperial Brands stock traded up GBX 45 ($0.56) during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching GBX 1,819 ($22.64). The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,528,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,449,948. The firm has a market cap of £15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 733.47, a PEG ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 1,752.20 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 1,795.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 157.30. Imperial Brands has a twelve month low of GBX 1,553.50 ($19.34) and a twelve month high of GBX 2,016 ($25.10).

Imperial Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of GBX 51.82 ($0.65) per share. This is a boost from Imperial Brands’s previous dividend of $21.59. This represents a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Imperial Brands’s payout ratio is currently 5,927.42%.

Insider Activity at Imperial Brands

In other Imperial Brands news, insider Lukas Paravicini sold 57,407 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,825 ($22.72), for a total value of £1,047,677.75 ($1,304,217.29). In related news, insider Stefan Bomhard sold 140,219 shares of Imperial Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,843 ($22.94), for a total value of £2,584,236.17 ($3,217,024.98). Also, insider Lukas Paravicini sold 57,407 shares of Imperial Brands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,825 ($22.72), for a total value of £1,047,677.75 ($1,304,217.29). Company insiders own 7.16% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Brands Company Profile

Imperial Brands PLC, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, imports, markets, and sells tobacco and tobacco-related products in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It offers a range of cigarettes, tobacco accessories, vapour, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine. The company sells its products under various brands, including JPS, Davidoff, Gauloises, West, Winston, Kool, Lambert & Butler, Fortuna, Nobel, News, Backwoods, Champion, Golden Virginia, Rizla, Blu, Pulze, Skruf, and Zone X.