Franchise Brands (LON:FRAN) Receives Buy Rating from Berenberg Bank

Key Points

• Berenberg Bank reissued a Buy rating on Franchise Brands with a GBX 185 price target (about a 33.6% upside), and the consensus of three analysts is also a Buy with a mean target of GBX 197.50.
• Shares opened at GBX 138.50 (12‑month range GBX 104.66–160), the company has a market cap of £265.48m and a P/E of 29.85, last quarter EPS was GBX 9 and analysts forecast roughly 11.33 EPS for the year.
• Insider Stephen Hemsley bought 72,500 shares at GBX 116, and insiders collectively own 31.78% of the company.

Franchise Brands (LON:FRAN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities researchers at Berenberg Bank in a research note issued on Thursday,Digital Look reports. They presently have a GBX 185 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank's target price indicates a potential upside of 33.57% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Franchise Brands from GBX 260 to GBX 210 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Shore Capital Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Franchise Brands in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 197.50.

Franchise Brands Stock Performance

Shares of LON FRAN opened at GBX 138.50 on Thursday. Franchise Brands has a 12-month low of GBX 104.66 and a 12-month high of GBX 160. The company has a market cap of £265.48 million, a PE ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 125.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 129.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 36.34.

Franchise Brands (LON:FRAN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported GBX 9 earnings per share for the quarter. Franchise Brands had a return on equity of 4.06% and a net margin of 6.32%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Franchise Brands will post 11.3266098 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen Hemsley purchased 72,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 116 per share, for a total transaction of £84,100. Company insiders own 31.78% of the company's stock.

Franchise Brands Company Profile

Franchise Brands is an international, multi-brand franchisor focused on B2B van-based service with seven franchise brands and a presence in 10 countries across the UK, North America and Europe. The Group is focused on building market-leading businesses primarily via a franchise model and has a combined network of over 600 franchisees. The Company owns several market-leading brands with long trading histories, including Pirtek in Europe, Filta, Metro Rod and Metro Plumb, all of which benefit from the Group's central support services, particularly technology, marketing, and finance.

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