Close Brothers Group (LON:CBG) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Shore Capital Group

Key Points

• Close Brothers Group was downgraded by Shore Capital to a "Hold" with a GBX 475 price target, implying about a 6.29% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains skewed positive overall — six Buys and two Holds give a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of GBX 500.63, and recent upgrades from RBC, UBS and Deutsche Bank raised individual targets to GBX 625, 555 and 570 respectively.
• The stock traded at GBX 446.88 (market cap £672.77) and shows weak fundamentals (P/E -12.66, net margin -4.66%), while insider Mike Morgan bought 2,841 shares at GBX 507, signalling some insider confidence.

Close Brothers Group (LON:CBG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Shore Capital Group to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,London Stock Exchange reports. They presently have a GBX 475 price target on the stock. Shore Capital Group's price target points to a potential upside of 6.29% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CBG. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Close Brothers Group to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from GBX 475 to GBX 625 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group upgraded Close Brothers Group to a "buy" rating and set a GBX 555 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Close Brothers Group from GBX 550 to GBX 570 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 500.63.

Close Brothers Group Price Performance

Shares of CBG traded up GBX 57.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting GBX 446.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,804,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,137,197. The company has a market cap of £672.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 446.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 461.71. Close Brothers Group has a 52-week low of GBX 265.20 and a 52-week high of GBX 563.50.

Close Brothers Group (LON:CBG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported GBX 27.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Close Brothers Group had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a negative return on equity of 2.03%. Research analysts predict that Close Brothers Group will post 66.0070671 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Close Brothers Group news, insider Mike Morgan bought 2,841 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 507 per share, for a total transaction of £14,403.87. 2.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Close Brothers Group Company Profile

Close Brothers Group plc, a merchant banking company, engages in the provision of financial services to small businesses and individuals in the United Kingdom. It operates through five segments: Commercial, Retail, Property, Asset Management, and Securities. The company offers banking services comprising of debt factoring, invoice discounting, asset-based lending; financing for SMEs, residential housing, transport, industrial equipment, renewable energy, motorcycle, used car, and commercial vehicle financing; insurance, refurbishment, and bridging financing, savings products for individuals and corporates, hire purchase, lease, and loan related services.

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.