Admiral Group (LON:ADM) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Peel Hunt

Key Points

• Admiral Group has been downgraded to a "sell" rating by Peel Hunt, with a new price objective of GBX 2,350, indicating a potential downside of 29.77% from its current price.
• Contrasting analyst opinions exist, as Berenberg Bank and JPMorgan have set higher price targets and given "buy" and "neutral" ratings, respectively, showing a mixed outlook on the stock.
• Insider buying activity has been reported, with two executives purchasing shares at an average price of GBX 3,272 and GBX 3,553, suggesting some level of confidence in the company's future.

Peel Hunt cut shares of Admiral Group (LON:ADM - Free Report) to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have GBX 2,350 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of GBX 2,270.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Admiral Group from GBX 2,700 to GBX 3,050 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Admiral Group to GBX 260 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a GBX 4,100 target price on shares of Admiral Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Admiral Group from GBX 3,850 to GBX 4,000 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Admiral Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 2,752.

Admiral Group Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of LON ADM traded down GBX 102 during midday trading on Friday, reaching GBX 3,342. 147,721,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,662,887. The company has a market capitalization of £9.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,237.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.18. Admiral Group has a 52-week low of GBX 2,383 and a 52-week high of GBX 3,686. The company has a current ratio of 7.57, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 115.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 3,419.03 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 3,242.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Mike Rogers acquired 3,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 3,553 per share, for a total transaction of £119,025.50. Also, insider Michael Brierley acquired 28 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 3,272 per share, for a total transaction of £916.16. Company insiders own 13.81% of the company's stock.

About Admiral Group

Admiral Group plc is an established financial services provider offering motor, household, travel and pet insurance, as well as personal lending products, trading in five countries, namely the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the US. Founded in 1993, Admiral has grown to become an established multinational and multi-product insurer and is proud to be Wales' only FTSE 100 Company.