Centrica (LON:CNA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Centrica from GBX 185 to GBX 200 while keeping a "neutral" rating, and other brokers (RBC to GBX 215, Barclays to GBX 210) leave the consensus target at GBX 198.80 with an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Shares traded up to GBX 196.05 on heavy volume (21.67M vs. a 10.8M average), trading near the 1‑year high and giving the company a market cap of £8.88bn despite a negative P/E of -42.62.
• Insiders have been buying recently — including Sue Whalley and Philippe Boisseau at GBX 184 — with 5,529 shares purchased over the last 90 days and insiders owning about 0.22% of the stock.

Centrica (LON:CNA - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Citigroup from GBX 185 to GBX 200 in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the integrated energy company's stock. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.01% from the stock's previous close.

CNA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Centrica from GBX 200 to GBX 215 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upgraded Centrica to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from GBX 180 to GBX 210 in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 198.80.

Centrica Stock Performance

Shares of LON:CNA traded up GBX 4.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting GBX 196.05. 21,671,631 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,802,316. The company has a market capitalization of £8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 66.48, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.77. Centrica has a 1-year low of GBX 132.90 and a 1-year high of GBX 196.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is GBX 175.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 169.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centrica news, insider Sue Whalley bought 530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 184 per share, for a total transaction of £975.20. Also, insider Philippe Boisseau purchased 1,021 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 184 per share, with a total value of £1,878.64. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 5,529 shares of company stock worth $949,159. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centrica Company Profile

Centrica is energising a greener, fairer future for our colleagues, customers and communities. Our integrated business operates across the energy value chain, with over ten million Retail customers, leading brands such as British Gas and Bord Gáis Energy, and the UK's largest energy services workforce. Our Infrastructure businesses bring gas and electricity to the market every day and provide more than half of the UK's gas storage capacity, while our Optimisation business delivers world-class procurement and route-to-market capabilities to the Group and third parties, supporting energy security and our customers' decarbonisation journeys.

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