Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 1,905.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,830 to GBX 1,710 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 1,650 price objective on shares of Associated British Foods in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 2,100 to GBX 1,925 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 2,095 to GBX 1,940 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Shore Capital cut shares of Associated British Foods to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated British Foods

In other news, insider Eoin Tonge sold 34,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,103, for a total transaction of £732,222.54. Also, insider George G. Weston sold 43,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,103, for a total value of £918,169.80. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Associated British Foods Stock Performance

ABF opened at GBX 1,837.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of £13.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.88, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Associated British Foods has a 1-year low of GBX 1,810 and a 1-year high of GBX 2,359. The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 2,116.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 2,145.72.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported GBX 174.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Associated British Foods had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 7.25%. Research analysts predict that Associated British Foods will post 188.0990415 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated British Foods Company Profile

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £13.9bn, 128,000 employees and operations in 53 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia.

Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food, and clothing that is great value for money. With the breadth of our business, our brands and global reach, ABF aims to consistently deliver value to its stakeholders.

Our business is split into five segments: Grocery; Sugar; Agriculture; Ingredients; and Retail.