J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as GBX 358.20 and last traded at GBX 357.20, with a volume of 8178870 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 355.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on J Sainsbury from GBX 366 to GBX 360 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Shore Capital Group reiterated a “house stock” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of J Sainsbury from GBX 330 to GBX 310 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of J Sainsbury from GBX 350 to GBX 345 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 330.

J Sainsbury Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 327.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 323.51. The stock has a market cap of £7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Simon Roberts sold 30,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 308, for a total transaction of £93,447.20. Also, insider Katie Bickerstaffe acquired 5,534 shares of J Sainsbury stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 309 per share, with a total value of £17,100.06. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About J Sainsbury

J Sainsbury plc is one of the UK’s leading food, general merchandise and clothing retailers.

Offering delicious, great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since we opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority. Our purpose is that driven by our passion for food, together we serve and help every customer.

Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Habitat, Tu, Nectar and Sainsbury’s Bank.