Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 3,480.

Several research firms have issued reports on WTB. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Whitbread from GBX 2,800 to GBX 2,900 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Peel Hunt restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,500 target price on shares of Whitbread in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Panmure Gordon reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,700 target price on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, October 16th.

Whitbread Stock Up 0.5%

WTB traded up GBX 13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting GBX 2,815. 784,557 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,431,579. The stock has a market capitalization of £4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 3,037.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 3,002.06. Whitbread has a 12-month low of GBX 2,253 and a 12-month high of GBX 3,302. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.