Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) Receives GBX 2,413.33 Average Target Price from Analysts

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 2,413.33 ($33.16).

WTB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($50.85) to GBX 3,300 ($45.35) and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Whitbread to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Whitbread Price Performance

WTB stock opened at GBX 2,918 ($40.10) on Friday. Whitbread has a 52-week low of GBX 2,253 ($30.96) and a 52-week high of GBX 3,352 ($46.06). The business has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 2,784.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 2,731.41. The company has a market capitalization of £5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported GBX 194.60 ($2.67) earnings per share for the quarter. Whitbread had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 8.08%. Research analysts expect that Whitbread will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other Whitbread news, insider Kal Atwal acquired 269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 2,843 ($39.07) per share, for a total transaction of £7,647.67 ($10,509.37). Also, insider Dominic Paul sold 3,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,790 ($38.34), for a total transaction of £89,447.40 ($122,917.96). Insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

Whitbread Company Profile

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.