Whitbread (LON:WTB) Shares Down 11.3% – Should You Sell?

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB)’s share price was down 11.3% during mid-day trading on Saturday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,490 and last traded at GBX 2,493.73. Approximately 2,620,126 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 2,415,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,812.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WTB shares. Panmure Gordon reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,700 price objective on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Peel Hunt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,500 price target on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Whitbread from GBX 2,800 to GBX 2,900 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 3,480.

Whitbread Stock Performance

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 firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 3,004.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 2,997.14. The company has a market capitalization of £4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Whitbread (LON:WTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported GBX 133.70 earnings per share for the quarter. Whitbread had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 6.83%. Research analysts anticipate that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christine Mary Hodgson purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 2,880 per share, with a total value of £288,000. Also, insider Richard Gillingwater purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 2,974 per share, with a total value of £14,870. Company insiders own 0.38% 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.