Whitbread (LON:WTB) Given Buy Rating at Shore Capital

Shore Capital reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Whitbread (LON:WTB) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WTB. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($49.16) to GBX 3,300 ($43.84) and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Whitbread to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 2,860 ($38.00).

Whitbread Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of LON WTB opened at GBX 2,693 ($35.78) on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18. Whitbread has a 12 month low of GBX 2,253 ($29.93) and a 12 month high of GBX 3,352 ($44.53). The firm has a market capitalization of £4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 2,532.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 2,801.02.

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

Whitbread announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Whitbread

In other news, insider Kal Atwal purchased 1,130 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 2,621 ($34.82) per share, with a total value of £29,617.30 ($39,348.08). 1.03% of the stock is owned by 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.