Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Trading Down 24.4% – Time to Sell?

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) was down 24.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,218 ($29.43) and last traded at GBX 2,327.73 ($30.88). Approximately 5,287,830 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 115% from the average daily volume of 2,465,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,078 ($40.84).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BNZL shares. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup raised Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 3,375 ($44.78).

Bunzl Trading Up 0.4 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 3,071.17 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 3,319.24. The company has a market capitalization of £7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.58) earnings per share for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. Analysts expect that Bunzl plc will post 213.3413462 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of GBX 53.80 ($0.71) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. Bunzl’s dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bunzl

In other Bunzl news, insider Richard Howes bought 8,479 shares of Bunzl stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 2,338 ($31.02) per share, for a total transaction of £198,239.02 ($263,021.12). Also, insider Frank van Zanten acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 3,037 ($40.29) per share, for a total transaction of £121,480 ($161,178.19). 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bunzl Company Profile

Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and personal protection equipment to grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.