Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Associated British Foods shares moved above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as GBX 1,992 and last changing hands at GBX 1,988.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average target price of GBX 1,788.57, and several firms have recently cut price targets or reiterated hold/sell calls.
• The company reported recent quarterly EPS of GBX 174.90 and has a market cap of about £13.91 billion; an insider also bought shares in April, signaling some internal confidence.

Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 1,904.99 and traded as high as GBX 1,992. Associated British Foods shares last traded at GBX 1,988, with a volume of 712,568 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABF. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 1,450 to GBX 1,410 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and set a GBX 1,650 price target on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a GBX 2,050 price target on shares of Associated British Foods in a report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 1,780 to GBX 1,700 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 1,925 to GBX 1,850 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated British Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of GBX 1,788.57.

Associated British Foods Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock's 50 day moving average price is GBX 1,879 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 1,904.99. The firm has a market capitalization of £13.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.81.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 17th. The company reported GBX 174.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Associated British Foods had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 8.44%. The company had revenue of GBX 1,945.90 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Associated British Foods plc will post 188.0990415 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Associated British Foods news, insider Loraine Woodhouse purchased 1,074 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 1,853 per share, for a total transaction of £19,901.22. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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