Share Repurchase Plan Declared by J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Board of Directors

Key Points

• J Sainsbury authorized a £100 million share buyback, allowing the company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its outstanding shares through open-market purchases.
• The stock traded at GBX 353.10, near its 12-month high of GBX 380.30, with a market capitalization of approximately £7.69 billion. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy”, with an average target price of GBX 360.17.
• J Sainsbury reported quarterly earnings of GBX 9.50 per share, while analyst estimates called for full-year earnings of GBX 25.72 per share. Insider activity included a substantial sale by Simon Roberts and a smaller purchase by Katie Bickerstaffe.

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY - Get Free Report) announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, October 23rd, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase £100 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the grocer to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

J Sainsbury Price Performance

J Sainsbury stock traded up GBX 3.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching GBX 353.10. 1,384,014,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,096,709. The firm has a market cap of £7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 115.36, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 337.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 333.35. J Sainsbury has a 12 month low of GBX 293.70 and a 12 month high of GBX 380.30.

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The grocer reported GBX 9.50 earnings per share for the quarter. J Sainsbury had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.15%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that J Sainsbury will post 25.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 310 target price on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a "house stock" rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of J Sainsbury from GBX 330 to GBX 346 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a GBX 375 price objective on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 390 price objective on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 360.17.

Insider Activity

In other J Sainsbury news, insider Simon Roberts sold 346,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 333, for a total value of £1,152,692.82. Also, insider Katie Bickerstaffe bought 5,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 347 per share, with a total value of £19,890.04. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

J Sainsbury Company Profile

J Sainsbury plc is one of the UK's leading food, general merchandise and clothing retailers. Offering delicious, great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since we opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority. Our purpose is that driven by our passion for food, together we serve and help every customer. Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Habitat, Tu, Nectar and Sainsbury's Bank.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.