SSP Group (LON:SSPG) Stock Price Up 14.4% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG) traded up 14.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as GBX 170.70 and last traded at GBX 169.43. 7,367,625 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 116% from the average session volume of 3,416,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 148.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SSPG. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “house stock” rating on shares of SSP Group in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on SSP Group from GBX 190 to GBX 170 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on SSP Group from GBX 285 to GBX 262 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 190 price target on shares of SSP Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 310 price target (down from GBX 330) on shares of SSP Group in a report on Monday, October 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 232.83.

SSP Group Trading Up 3.0%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 156.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 162.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 852.29. The company has a market cap of £1.36 billion, a PE ratio of -56.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.88.

SSP Group (LON:SSPG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported GBX 11 EPS for the quarter. SSP Group had a return on equity of 3.64% and a net margin of 0.24%. On average, analysts forecast that SSP Group plc will post 13.1004016 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SSP Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 9th that allows the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at SSP Group

In related news, insider Patrick Coveney acquired 149,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 168 per share, for a total transaction of £251,443.92. Also, insider Apurvi Sheth bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 165 per share, with a total value of £6,600. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 186,751 shares of company stock worth $31,474,856. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About SSP Group

SSP is a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, with c.37,000 colleagues in over 600 locations across 36 countries. We operate sit-down and quick service restaurants, cafes, lounges and food-led convenience stores, principally in airports and train stations, with a portfolio of more than 550 international, national and local brands.