Justin Platt Acquires 158,309 Shares of Marston’s (LON:MARS) Stock

Marston’s PLC (LON:MARS) insider Justin Platt acquired 158,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 59 per share, with a total value of £93,402.31.

Marston’s Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of LON MARS traded up GBX 0.10 during trading on Monday, reaching GBX 58.90. 808,388 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,498,747. The company has a market capitalization of £373.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 1.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 52.37 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 44.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 198.96. Marston’s PLC has a twelve month low of GBX 31.10 and a twelve month high of GBX 62.90.

Marston’s (LON:MARS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 15th. The company reported GBX 8.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Marston’s had a negative net margin of 1.91% and a negative return on equity of 2.72%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marston’s PLC will post 8.364486 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MARS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Peel Hunt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 75 price target on shares of Marston’s in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Marston’s from GBX 78 to GBX 85 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Panmure Gordon reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 80 price target on shares of Marston’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Marston’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 80.

About Marston’s

Marston’s PLC operates managed, franchised, tenanted, partnership, and leased pubs in the United Kingdom. It is also involved in the property management; telecommunications; and insurance businesses. The company was formerly known as The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC and changed its name to Marston’s PLC in January 2007. The company was founded in 1834 and is based in Wolverhampton, the United Kingdom.