Essentra (LON:ESNT) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Essentra plc (LON:ESNT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as GBX 124 and last traded at GBX 121.11, with a volume of 1,958,413 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 113.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ESNT. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 140 target price on shares of Essentra in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 140 price target on shares of Essentra in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Essentra from GBX 130 to GBX 140 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 130.

Essentra Trading Down 3.0%

The company has a market cap of £325.81 million, a PE ratio of 46.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is GBX 110.40 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 96.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.28.

Essentra (LON:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported GBX 7.20 EPS for the quarter. Essentra had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essentra plc will post 524.14 EPS for the current year.

Essentra Company Profile

Essentra plc is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of essential components and solutions, focusing on the manufacture and distribution of plastic injection moulded, vinyl dip moulded and metal items.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Essentra’s global network extends to 27 countries worldwide and includes c.3,000 employees, 16 manufacturing facilities, 27 distribution centres and 37 sales & service centres serving c.64,000 customers with a rapid supply of low cost but essential products for a variety of applications in industries such as equipment manufacturing, automotive, fabrication, electronics, medical and renewable energy.