Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Shares Down 12.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Associated British Foods' stock price experienced a significant drop of 12.9%, closing at GBX 1,952.50 ($26.41) after reaching a low of GBX 1,928.50 ($26.09).
• Analyst ratings for the company have become mixed, with Deutsche Bank downgrading the stock to a "sell" rating and lowering the price target, while Shore Capital maintained a "buy" rating.
• The company's market capitalization stands at £13.84 billion, with a notably high price-to-earnings ratio of 1,097.29, indicating concerns about its valuation.

Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF - Get Free Report) shares were down 12.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 1,928.50 ($26.15) and last traded at GBX 1,952.50 ($26.47). Approximately 26,944,266 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 579% from the average daily volume of 3,967,327 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,241 ($30.39).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ABF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Associated British Foods to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from GBX 2,220 to GBX 2,130 in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of GBX 2,215.

Associated British Foods Stock Up 0.6%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 2,190.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 2,082.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.88. The stock has a market cap of £13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,106.32, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24.

Insider Activity at Associated British Foods

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

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.