Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Whitbread (LON:WTB) Stock

Whitbread (LON:WTB) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.46% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WTB. Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Berenberg Bank dropped their price objective on Whitbread from GBX 3,900 to GBX 3,500 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 3,650.

Whitbread Price Performance

Shares of LON:WTB opened at GBX 3,154.62 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,993.77 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 2,771.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18. The stock has a market cap of £5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. Whitbread has a 12 month low of GBX 2,253 and a 12 month high of GBX 3,352.

Whitbread announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Whitbread

In other news, insider Dominic Paul sold 3,206 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,790, for a total value of £89,447.40. Also, insider Hemant Patel sold 2,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,790, for a total value of £72,735.30. 1.03% 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.