Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Trading Down 13.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Associated British Foods shares fell by 13.2%, trading as low as GBX 1,928.50 ($26.09), significantly dropping from its previous close of GBX 2,241 ($30.32).
• Analyst ratings have been mixed, with Shore Capital maintaining a "buy" rating while Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to "sell" and reduced its target price to GBX 2,130.
• The company has a market cap of £13.84 billion and has seen insider selling, with over 16,000 shares sold by Eoin Tonge at an average price of GBX 2,070.

Shares of Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF - Get Free Report) were down 13.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 1,928.50 ($26.19) and last traded at GBX 1,945.50 ($26.42). Approximately 2,909,437 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 3,829,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,241 ($30.43).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABF has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Associated British Foods to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated British Foods has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of GBX 2,215.

Associated British Foods Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.88, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of £13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,099.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50-day simple moving average is GBX 2,192.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 2,079.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated British Foods

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