Greggs (LON:GRG) Trading Up 9.2% - Here's Why

Greggs plc (LON:GRG - Get Free Report) shares traded up 9.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 2,237.88 ($29.97) and last traded at GBX 2,182 ($29.22). 1,496,559 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 0% from the average session volume of 1,501,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,999 ($26.77).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Shore Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Greggs in a report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Greggs from GBX 3,420 ($45.80) to GBX 3,250 ($43.52) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Greggs Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 66.19, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of £2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 1,827.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 2,210.36.

Greggs (LON:GRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 150.70 ($2.02) EPS for the quarter. Greggs had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 26.79%. Analysts expect that Greggs plc will post 142.3763386 earnings per share for the current year.

Greggs Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a GBX 100 ($1.34) dividend. This is a positive change from Greggs's previous dividend of $50.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a yield of 3.66%. Greggs's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greggs

In related news, insider Roisin Currie purchased 721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 1,796 ($24.05) per share, for a total transaction of £12,949.16 ($17,341.85). Company insiders own 5.89% of the company's stock.

About Greggs

Greggs is a leading UK food-on-the-go retailer with more than 2,600 shops nationwide and approximately 33,000 employees across the business. As a food-on-the-go retailer, Greggs specialises in daily fresh shop-made sandwiches, and savouries baked fresh in the shop ovens throughout the day. These are further complemented by popular products and ranges including freshly ground coffee, breakfast, confectionery and evening menu items.

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