Analysts Set SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG) Target Price at GBX 244.50

SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 244.50.

Several brokerages have commented on SSPG. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 180 price target on shares of SSP Group in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 230 target price on shares of SSP Group in a report on Monday, January 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of SSP Group from GBX 310 to GBX 350 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “house stock” rating on shares of SSP Group in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of SSP Group from GBX 190 to GBX 170 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th.

SSP Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of SSPG opened at GBX 197.50 on Wednesday. SSP Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 134.10 and a fifty-two week high of GBX 212.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is GBX 182.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 169.25. The firm has a market cap of £1.57 billion, a PE ratio of -21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 852.29.

SSP Group (LON:SSPG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that SSP Group will post 13.1004016 earnings per share for the current year.

SSP Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Tim Lodge purchased 15,000 shares of SSP Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 172 per share, with a total value of £25,800. Also, insider Geert Verellen purchased 41,006 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 181 per share, with a total value of £74,220.86. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 227,675 shares of company stock valued at $38,884,478. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SSP Group Company Profile

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. These include our own brands (such as UrbanCrave, which brought the first “street eats” concept to airports in the US, Nippon Ramen, a noodle and dumpling concept in the Asia Pac region, and Juniper, a premium bar in the UK) as well as franchise brands (such as M&S, Starbucks and Burger King).