Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 2,860 ($38.05).

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Whitbread to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($49.22) to GBX 3,300 ($43.90) and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Whitbread Price Performance

Shares of LON:WTB opened at GBX 2,810 ($37.38) on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 2,544.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 2,786.05. Whitbread has a 52 week low of GBX 2,253 ($29.97) and a 52 week high of GBX 3,352 ($44.59). The company has a market cap of £5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18.

Whitbread (LON:WTB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported GBX 194.60 ($2.59) EPS for the quarter. Whitbread had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 8.08%. Equities research analysts forecast that Whitbread will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current year.

Whitbread declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Whitbread

In other Whitbread news, insider Kal Atwal bought 1,130 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 2,621 ($34.87) per share, for a total transaction of £29,617.30 ($39,400.43). 1.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Whitbread

Whitbread is the owner of Premier Inn, the UK’s biggest
hotel brand, with 86,000 rooms in over 850 hotels
and a growing presence in Germany with 10,500 rooms in
59 hotels, offering quality accommodation at affordable
prices in great locations.

People are at the heart of our business. We employ over
38,000 team members in over 900 Premier Inn hotels
across the UK and Germany.