Unite Group PLC (LON:UTG) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Unite Group has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from eight analysts, with five buy ratings and three holds. The average 12-month price target is GBX 613.75.
• Recent broker updates were mixed: Berenberg and Deutsche Bank raised their targets and retained buy ratings, while Citigroup downgraded the stock to neutral and cut its target to GBX 579.
• Shares opened at GBX 457.60, below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the company reported quarterly earnings of GBX 27.10 per share and continues to operate the UK’s largest purpose-built student accommodation portfolio.

Shares of Unite Group PLC (LON:UTG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 613.75.

UTG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on Unite Group from GBX 623 to GBX 668 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a GBX 503 price objective on shares of Unite Group in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered Unite Group to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from GBX 906 to GBX 579 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Unite Group from GBX 600 to GBX 640 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 585 price target on shares of Unite Group in a report on Friday, July 3rd.

Unite Group Stock Performance

Shares of UTG stock opened at GBX 457.60 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is GBX 505.57 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 498.29. The stock has a market capitalization of £2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.68, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. Unite Group has a 12 month low of GBX 442.20 and a 12 month high of GBX 729.50. The company has a current ratio of 23.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 46.65.

Unite Group (LON:UTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported GBX 27.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Unite Group had a negative net margin of 143.81% and a negative return on equity of 10.94%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unite Group will post 47.9341004 earnings per share for the current year.

About Unite Group

Unite Students is the UK's largest owner, manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation, serving the country's world-leading Higher Education sector. We provide homes to 70,000 students across 157 properties in 23 leading university towns and cities. We currently partner with over 60 universities across the UK. Our people are driven by a common purpose: to provide a 'Home for Success' for the students who live with us. Unite's accommodation is safe and secure, high quality and affordable.

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