Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Earns Underperform Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies reiterated an underperform rating on Associated British Foods with a GBX 1,650 price target, implying roughly a 10.2% downside from current levels.
• Several other brokers have cut targets recently — three analysts rate the stock Hold and three rate it Sell — leaving a MarketBeat average rating of Reduce and an average price target of GBX 1,793.
• Shares opened at GBX 1,836.84 (down about 2.6%), valuing the company at £12.92bn with a PE ratio of 12.97, and the stock is trading below its 200‑day moving average (GBX 2,022.41).

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reiterated by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,London Stock Exchange reports. They presently have a GBX 1,650 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target points to a potential downside of 10.17% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,100 to GBX 1,925 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,095 to GBX 1,940 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,710 to GBX 1,600 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Shore Capital Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Associated British Foods to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from GBX 2,050 to GBX 1,850 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Three investment 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of GBX 1,793.

Associated British Foods Stock Down 2.6%

Associated British Foods stock opened at GBX 1,836.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of £12.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.33, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.54. Associated British Foods has a one year low of GBX 1,729.45 and a one year high of GBX 2,359. The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 1,890.99 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 2,022.41.

Associated British Foods Company Profile

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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