Croda International Plc (LON:CRDA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Croda an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from six brokers (three hold, three buy) with a consensus 12‑month target of GBX 3,140; Morgan Stanley upgraded to overweight and raised its target to GBX 3,350 while Deutsche Bank trimmed its target to GBX 3,000.
• CRDA opened at GBX 3,051 and trades within a 12‑month range of GBX 2,426.77–3,312, with a market cap of £4.25bn, a P/E of 68.72 (PEG 1.40), last quarter EPS of GBX 146.20 and analysts forecasting ~GBX 181.83 EPS for the year.
• Insider activity was mixed: Tom Brophy sold 1,020 shares and Steve Foots sold 3,622 shares on March 17, while insiders also purchased 771 shares last quarter; insiders own about 0.83% of the stock.

Croda International Plc (LON:CRDA - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,140.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Croda International to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from GBX 3,280 to GBX 3,350 in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Croda International from GBX 3,100 to GBX 3,000 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th.

Croda International Stock Up 2.4%

CRDA stock opened at GBX 3,051 on Friday. Croda International has a 12-month low of GBX 2,426.77 and a 12-month high of GBX 3,312. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 31.85. The company has a market cap of £4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.72, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,893.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 2,815.51.

Croda International (LON:CRDA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported GBX 146.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Croda International had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 2.82%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Croda International will post 181.8307268 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Croda International news, insider Tom Brophy sold 1,020 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,652, for a total value of £27,050.40. Also, insider Steve Foots sold 3,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,606, for a total transaction of £94,389.32. Insiders purchased a total of 771 shares of company stock worth $2,152,788 in the last quarter. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Croda International

Founded in 1925 with the aim of turning bio-based raw materials into innovative ingredients, Croda International is a speciality chemicals company focused on consumer care and life sciences markets. The company is focused on creating, making and selling innovative ingredients that deliver real benefits to a diverse range of customers and employs more than 6,000 people around the world. Sustainability is a core part of the Groups strategy with a commitment to be Climate, Land and People positive by 2030.

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