Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Stock Price Down 13.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Associated British Foods plc shares fell 13.2%, trading as low as GBX 1,928.50, significantly down from its previous close of GBX 2,241.
• Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, lowering its target price to GBX 2,130.
• Insider Eoin Tonge sold 16,741 shares at an average price of GBX 2,070, indicating potential concerns from company insiders.

Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF - Get Free Report) traded down 13.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 1,928.50 ($26.15) and last traded at GBX 1,945.50 ($26.38). 2,909,437 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 3,829,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,241 ($30.39).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Associated British Foods to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from GBX 2,220 to GBX 2,130 in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Shore Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 2,215.

Associated British Foods Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of £13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 1,106.32, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.88, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 2,190.23 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 2,082.86.

Insider Activity at Associated British Foods

In other news, insider Eoin Tonge sold 16,741 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,070, for a total transaction of £346,538.70. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company's stock.

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.