Shore Capital Group Reiterates Hold Rating for Associated British Foods (LON:ABF)

Key Points

• Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on Associated British Foods, with a GBX 2,010 price target indicating 12.35% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: ABF has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with four hold ratings and three sell ratings and an average price target of GBX 1,808.57.
• ABF shares were trading down 11.4%, opening at GBX 1,789, below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages; the company reported quarterly EPS of GBX 174.90 and revenue of GBX 1,945.90 billion.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reissued by equities researchers at Shore Capital Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, London Stock Exchange reports. They currently have a GBX 2,010 price objective on the stock. Shore Capital Group's target price points to a potential upside of 12.35% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,780 to GBX 1,700 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a GBX 1,650 price objective on shares of Associated British Foods in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 1,925 to GBX 1,850 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a GBX 2,050 target price on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 1,330 to GBX 1,550 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of GBX 1,808.57.

Associated British Foods Trading Down 11.4%

Shares of ABF stock opened at GBX 1,789 on Wednesday. Associated British Foods has a 52-week low of GBX 1,729.45 and a 52-week high of GBX 2,359. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 2,034.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 1,927.62. The company has a market capitalization of £12.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.63, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 17th. The company reported GBX 174.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Associated British Foods will post 188.0990415 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Associated British Foods

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.

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