Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) Share Price Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB) shares crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,954.45 and traded as low as GBX 2,855. Imperial Brands shares last traded at GBX 2,886.65, with a volume of 230,653,344 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on IMB. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,500 price target on shares of Imperial Brands in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,500 price objective on shares of Imperial Brands in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 3,150 price objective on shares of Imperial Brands in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Imperial Brands from GBX 3,650 to GBX 3,550 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a GBX 2,700 price objective on shares of Imperial Brands in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 3,433.33.

Imperial Brands Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of £22.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 2,954.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 3,093.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 278.43, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported GBX 127.70 EPS for the quarter. Imperial Brands had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 39.24%. The company had revenue of GBX 1,471.90 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Imperial Brands PLC will post 246.5723613 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alan Johnson acquired 645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 3,097 per share, with a total value of £19,975.65. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Imperial Brands