Essentra (LON:ESNT) Stock Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Essentra plc (LON:ESNT)’s stock price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 122.23 ($1.61) and traded as low as GBX 94.10 ($1.24). Essentra shares last traded at GBX 99.01 ($1.30), with a volume of 630,654 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 170 ($2.24) price objective on shares of Essentra in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Essentra Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 100.04 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 122.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 51.89, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of £286.00 million, a PE ratio of 81.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.18.

Essentra (LON:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported GBX 8.50 ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Essentra had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 1.28%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essentra plc will post 524.137931 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essentra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of GBX 1.55 ($0.02) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Essentra’s previous dividend of $1.25. Essentra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 329.52%.

Insider Transactions at Essentra

In other Essentra news, insider Rowan Baker acquired 10,036 shares of Essentra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 104 ($1.37) per share, for a total transaction of £10,437.44 ($13,751.57). Also, insider Steve Good acquired 35,000 shares of Essentra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 109 ($1.44) per share, with a total value of £38,150 ($50,263.50). 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Essentra

Essentra plc is a leading global provider of essential components and solutions, focusing on the manufacture and distribution of plastic injection moulded, vinyl dip moulded and metal items.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Essentra’s global network extends to 28 countries worldwide and includes c.3,000 employees, 14 manufacturing facilities, 26 distribution centres and 37 sales & service centres serving c.64,000 customers with a rapid supply of low cost but essential products for a variety of applications in industries such as equipment manufacturing, automotive, fabrication, electronics, medical and renewable energy.