Close Brothers Group plc (LON:CBG) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Eight brokers rate Close Brothers Group an average "Moderate Buy" (six buys, two holds) with a 12‑month average price target of GBX 500.63.
• Shares opened at GBX 413.40, trade well below the 52‑week high of GBX 563.50 (52‑week low GBX 272), and the company shows weak profitability metrics—negative P/E (‑11.71), negative return on equity (‑2.03%) and negative net margin (‑4.66%).
• Insider buying: Company insiders purchased a total of 18,686 shares in the last 90 days (notably Mike Morgan bought 2,841 shares at GBX 507 and Sally Williams 6,914 shares at GBX 456), and insiders now own 2.19% of the stock.

Shares of Close Brothers Group plc (LON:CBG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 500.63.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Close Brothers Group to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock 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. Shore Capital Group cut Close Brothers Group to a "hold" rating and set a GBX 475 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Close Brothers Group from GBX 550 to GBX 570 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd.

Close Brothers Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of CBG opened at GBX 413.40 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 440.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 460.82. The stock has a market cap of £622.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.23. Close Brothers Group has a 52 week low of GBX 272 and a 52 week high of GBX 563.50.

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

Insider Transactions at Close Brothers Group

In other Close Brothers Group news, insider Mike Morgan acquired 2,841 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 507 per share, with a total value of £14,403.87. Also, insider Sally Williams acquired 6,914 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 456 per share, with a total value of £31,527.84. Insiders acquired a total of 18,686 shares of company stock valued at $8,603,322 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

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.

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