Franchise Brands (LON:FRAN) Trading Down 1.9% - Should You Sell?

Franchise Brands plc (LON:FRAN - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as GBX 143.50 ($1.93) and last traded at GBX 144 ($1.94). Approximately 49,174 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 143,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 146.75 ($1.97).

Franchise Brands Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of £293.79 million, a P/E ratio of 38.16 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of GBX 141.38 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 147.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 42.67.

Franchise Brands (LON:FRAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported GBX 8.59 ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Franchise Brands had a return on equity of 3.60% and a net margin of 6.43%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Franchise Brands plc will post 11.3266098 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franchise Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a GBX 1.30 ($0.02) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This is an increase from Franchise Brands's previous dividend of $1.10. Franchise Brands's payout ratio is presently 50.21%.

Insider Activity at Franchise Brands

In other news, insider Louise George acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 145 ($1.95) per share, for a total transaction of £72,500 ($97,551.13). Also, insider Stephen Hemsley acquired 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 137 ($1.84) per share, for a total transaction of £34,250 ($46,084.50). Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 100,000 shares of company stock worth $14,025,000. Insiders own 39.04% 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.