J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Stock Bumped Down to "Hold" by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank downgraded J Sainsbury to “Hold” and reduced its price target from GBX 390 to GBX 365, implying 5.43% upside from the prior close.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with three Buy and three Hold ratings and an average price target of GBX 356. Shares recently traded at GBX 346.20.
• J Sainsbury authorized a £100 million share buyback, equivalent to up to 1.3% of outstanding shares; an insider also bought shares, while CEO Simon Roberts sold £1.96 million worth.

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday, London Stock Exchange reports. They currently have a GBX 365 price objective on the grocer's stock, down from their prior price objective of GBX 390. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft's price target would indicate a potential upside of 5.43% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SBRY. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a GBX 375 target price on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a GBX 310 price objective on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Shore Capital Group reissued a "house stock" rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on J Sainsbury from GBX 330 to GBX 346 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 356.

J Sainsbury Stock Performance

J Sainsbury stock traded down GBX 7 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting GBX 346.20. 1,734,535,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,669,396. J Sainsbury has a 1 year low of GBX 293.70 and a 1 year high of GBX 380.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 115.36, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of £7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is GBX 337.52 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 333.35.

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The grocer reported GBX 9.50 EPS for the quarter. J Sainsbury had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.15%. As a group, equities analysts expect that J Sainsbury will post 25.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J Sainsbury announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 23rd that allows the company to buy back £100 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the grocer to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J Sainsbury news, insider Katie Bickerstaffe purchased 5,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 347 per share, for a total transaction of £19,890.04. Also, insider Simon Roberts sold 560,000 shares of J Sainsbury stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 350, for a total value of £1,960,000. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

About J Sainsbury

J Sainsbury plc is one of the UK's leading food, general merchandise and clothing retailers. Offering delicious, great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since we opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority. Our purpose is that driven by our passion for food, together we serve and help every customer. Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Habitat, Tu, Nectar and Sainsbury's Bank.

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