Marston’s (LON:MARS) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Marston’s PLC (LON:MARS)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 51.43 and traded as high as GBX 57.50. Marston’s shares last traded at GBX 55.40, with a volume of 2,852,736 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MARS has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Marston’s from GBX 78 to GBX 85 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Panmure Gordon restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 80 price target on shares of Marston’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Peel Hunt reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 75 price objective on shares of Marston’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Marston’s in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 80.

Marston’s Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 61.96 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 51.52. The firm has a market cap of £369.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.26, a P/E/G ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 157.01.

Marston’s (LON:MARS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 15th. The company reported GBX 8.50 EPS for the quarter. Marston’s had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 7.97%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marston’s PLC will post 8.364486 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Marston’s

In other Marston’s news, insider Justin Platt purchased 158,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 59 per share, for a total transaction of £93,402.31. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Marston’s

Marston’s PLC operates managed, franchised, tenanted, partnership, and leased pubs in the United Kingdom. It is also involved in the property management; telecommunications; and insurance businesses. The company was formerly known as The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC and changed its name to Marston’s PLC in January 2007. The company was founded in 1834 and is based in Wolverhampton, the United Kingdom.