Whitbread (LON:WTB) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,962.49 ($39.51) and traded as high as GBX 3,138 ($41.85). Whitbread shares last traded at GBX 3,110.11 ($41.48), with a volume of 71,224,914 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Whitbread from GBX 2,800 to GBX 2,900 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Berenberg Bank decreased their price objective on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,900 to GBX 3,500 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Peel Hunt reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,500 target price on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 3,425.

Whitbread Trading Down 0.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of £5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is GBX 3,148.92 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 2,962.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Whitbread (LON:WTB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported GBX 133.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Whitbread had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 6.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christine Mary Hodgson acquired 10,000 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 2,880 per share, for a total transaction of £288,000. Also, insider Richard Gillingwater acquired 500 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 2,974 per share, with a total value of £14,870. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.