Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 2,860 ($37.94).

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Whitbread to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($49.08) to GBX 3,300 ($43.78) and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Whitbread Stock Performance

LON WTB opened at GBX 2,848 ($37.78) on Friday. The firm has a market cap of £5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is GBX 2,563.70 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 2,777.39. Whitbread has a 12-month low of GBX 2,253 ($29.89) and a 12-month high of GBX 3,352 ($44.47).

Whitbread (LON:WTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported GBX 194.60 ($2.58) earnings per share for the quarter. Whitbread had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 6.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Whitbread will post 227.1851852 earnings per share for the current year.

Whitbread declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kal Atwal acquired 269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 2,843 ($37.72) per share, for a total transaction of £7,647.67 ($10,145.49). Corporate insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

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.