Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT) Given "Buy" Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies reaffirmed a “Buy” rating on Reckitt Benckiser Group and set a GBX 5,900 price target, implying 11.45% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 5,925.33; targets from other firms range from GBX 5,352 to GBX 6,500.
• Shares rose to GBX 5,294 during Wednesday trading, while insiders Gavin Patterson and Deborah Waterhouse each purchased company stock in August.

Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued on Wednesday, Digital Look reports. They presently have a GBX 5,900 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price points to a potential upside of 11.45% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a GBX 5,400 price objective on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 5,179 to GBX 5,352 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a GBX 6,200 price target on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 5,800 to GBX 6,500 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Three investment 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 5,925.33.

Reckitt Benckiser Group Stock Performance

RKT traded up GBX 76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting GBX 5,294. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,893,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,969,047. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 179.24. Reckitt Benckiser Group has a one year low of GBX 3,866 and a one year high of GBX 6,522.92. The firm has a market cap of £33.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.26. The business's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 5,141.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 5,247.

Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported GBX 101.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Reckitt Benckiser Group had a return on equity of 42.87% and a net margin of 21.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Reckitt Benckiser Group will post 331.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Reckitt Benckiser Group

In related news, insider Gavin Patterson bought 191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 5,183 per share, with a total value of £9,899.53. Also, insider Deborah Waterhouse purchased 152 shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 5,189 per share, for a total transaction of £7,887.28. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Reckitt Benckiser Group Company Profile

At Reckitt, we protect, heal and nurture. We are the company behind some of the world's best known and most trusted Health and Hygiene consumer brands. Delivering for a cleaner, healthier world requires strong brands with a global footprint. From Dettol, Lysol, Durex, Finish, Harpic and Vanish, Mucinex, Nurofen, Gaviscon, Veet and Strepsils, consumers love and rely on our brands to care for their families, as they have done for over 200 years. We use our scientific expertise and deep human understanding to develop solutions to help people improve their lives – that is why over 30 million Reckitt products are sold each day worldwide. At Reckitt, we're all making a real difference to people all over the world, every day.

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