Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported GBX 174.90 earnings per share for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. The firm had revenue of GBX 1,945.90 billion during the quarter. Associated British Foods had a return on equity of 8.44% and a net margin of 4.89%.

Associated British Foods Trading Down 0.7%

ABF opened at GBX 1,864.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of £13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.81. Associated British Foods has a 52 week low of GBX 1,729.45 and a 52 week high of GBX 2,359. The business’s 50 day moving average is GBX 1,851.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 1,924.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,925 to GBX 1,850 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,940 to GBX 1,780 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 1,650 target price on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Associated British Foods to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from GBX 2,050 to GBX 1,850 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Shore Capital Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated British Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of GBX 1,708.

Associated British Foods News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Associated British Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The UK Competition and Markets Authority approved ABF’s Hovis takeover, clearing the path for completion of the £75 million deal and strengthening ABF’s position in the UK bread market. ABF’s Hovis takeover deal given go-ahead by competition watchdog
• Positive Sentiment: The merger could expand ABF’s bakery footprint and create a larger, more efficient bread business with roughly 40% market share, which may support longer-term earnings power. CMA gives go ahead to ABF — Hovis merger
• Neutral Sentiment: ABF also reported quarterly results, showing EPS of GBX 174.90, revenue of GBX 1,945.90 billion, net margin of 4.89%, and return on equity of 8.44%. The earnings release provides updated operating context but did not include a major surprise in the provided details.
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup cut its price target on ABF to GBX 1,410 and kept a sell rating, which may weigh on sentiment despite the Hovis approval. Broker view update

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Loraine Woodhouse purchased 1,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 1,853 per share, with a total value of £19,901.22. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.