Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Whitbread has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from nine analysts: five recommend buying the stock and four rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is GBX 2,970.56.
• Analyst price targets vary widely, ranging from GBX 2,250 at Jefferies to GBX 3,700 at Shore Capital; Citigroup recently raised its target to GBX 3,300.
• Whitbread shares opened at GBX 2,314.80, versus a 12-month range of GBX 2,098 to GBX 3,302. Insiders also recently purchased shares, including two transactions totaling nearly £29,200.

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 2,970.56.

A number of research analysts recently commented on WTB shares. Berenberg Bank restated a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 2,280 target price on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 2,975 price target on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,100 to GBX 3,300 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Whitbread from GBX 2,050 to GBX 2,250 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Shore Capital Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 3,700 target price on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, June 18th.

Whitbread Price Performance

Shares of WTB stock opened at GBX 2,314.80 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,425.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 2,402.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 174.28. Whitbread has a 12 month low of GBX 2,098 and a 12 month high of GBX 3,302. The company has a market capitalization of £3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 0.65.

Insider Transactions at Whitbread

In other Whitbread news, insider Shelley Roberts purchased 485 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,456 per share, with a total value of £11,911.60. Also, insider Dominic Paul purchased 717 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 2,410 per share, for a total transaction of £17,279.70. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

About Whitbread

Whitbread is the owner of Premier Inn, the UK's biggest hotel brand, with 86,000 rooms in over 850 hotels and a growing presence in Germany with 10,500 rooms in 59 hotels, offering quality accommodation at affordable prices in great locations. People are at the heart of our business. We employ over 38,000 team members in over 900 Premier Inn hotels across the UK and Germany.

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