Whitbread (LON:WTB) Trading Down 11.3% – Time to Sell?

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB)’s stock price dropped 11.3% during trading on Saturday . The stock traded as low as GBX 2,490 and last traded at GBX 2,493.73. Approximately 2,620,126 shares changed hands during mid-day 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Whitbread Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 3,004.93 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 2,997.14. The stock has a market cap of £4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, 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 released its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Whitbread

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