Greggs (LON:GRG) Trading 9.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Greggs plc (LON:GRG)’s stock price rose 9.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 2,237.88 ($29.97) and last traded at GBX 2,182 ($29.22). Approximately 1,496,559 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 0% from the average daily volume of 1,501,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,999 ($26.77).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Berenberg Bank cut their price target on shares of Greggs from GBX 3,420 ($45.80) to GBX 3,250 ($43.52) and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Greggs in a research report on Tuesday.

Greggs Stock Down 0.8%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 1,827.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 2,210.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 66.19, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of £2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.43.

Greggs (LON:GRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 150.70 ($2.02) EPS for the quarter. Greggs had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 26.79%. As a group, research analysts expect that Greggs plc will post 142.3763386 EPS for the current year.

Greggs Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a GBX 100 ($1.34) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is a boost from Greggs’s previous dividend of $50.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Greggs’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Roisin Currie bought 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 1,796 ($24.05) per share, with a total value of £12,949.16 ($17,341.85). 5.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Greggs

Greggs is a leading UK food-on-the-go retailer with more than 2,600 shops nationwide and approximately 33,000 employees across the business.

As a food-on-the-go retailer, Greggs specialises in daily fresh shop-made sandwiches, and savouries baked fresh in the shop ovens throughout the day. These are further complemented by popular products and ranges including freshly ground coffee, breakfast, confectionery and evening menu items.