Essentra (LON:ESNT) Share Price Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Essentra plc (LON:ESNT - Get Free Report)'s share price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 120.05 ($1.62) and traded as low as GBX 97.70 ($1.32). Essentra shares last traded at GBX 100.20 ($1.36), with a volume of 472,715 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Berenberg Bank restated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 170 ($2.30) price objective on shares of Essentra in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

Essentra Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 51.89. The firm has a market cap of £278.24 million, a P/E ratio of 79.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is GBX 96.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 118.96.

Essentra (LON:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported GBX 8.50 ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Essentra had a net margin of 1.13% and a return on equity of 1.28%. As a group, analysts expect that Essentra plc will post 524.137931 earnings per share for the current year.

Essentra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a GBX 1.55 ($0.02) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Essentra's previous dividend of $1.25. This represents a dividend yield of 1.41%. Essentra's payout ratio is presently 329.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Essentra news, insider Steve Good bought 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 109 ($1.47) per share, with a total value of £38,150 ($51,623.82). Also, insider Rowan Baker bought 10,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 104 ($1.41) per share, for a total transaction of £10,437.44 ($14,123.73). Insiders own 0.99% of the company's stock.

About Essentra

Essentra plc is a leading global provider of essential components and solutions, focusing on the manufacture and distribution of plastic injection moulded, vinyl dip moulded and metal items. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Essentra's global network extends to 28 countries worldwide and includes c.3,000 employees, 14 manufacturing facilities, 26 distribution centres and 37 sales & service centres serving c.64,000 customers with a rapid supply of low cost but essential products for a variety of applications in industries such as equipment manufacturing, automotive, fabrication, electronics, medical and renewable energy.