Jefferies Financial Group Reiterates Hold Rating for Croda International (LON:CRDA)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a Hold rating on Croda with a GBX 3,000 target, implying effectively no downside (‑0.03%) from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of GBX 3,140 (three Buy, three Hold), while Morgan Stanley upgraded to Overweight and Deutsche Bank cut its target to GBX 3,000.
• Shares traded at GBX 3,001 (up ~0.1%), valuing the company at £4.18bn with a PE of 67.6; insiders made small recent trades (750 shares bought, 1,020 sold) and hold about 0.83% of the stock.

Croda International (LON:CRDA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Digital Look reports. They presently have a GBX 3,000 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price points to a potential downside of 0.03% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CRDA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Croda International from GBX 3,100 to GBX 3,000 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Croda International to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from GBX 3,280 to GBX 3,350 in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of GBX 3,140.

Croda International Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CRDA stock traded up GBX 3 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching GBX 3,001. 832,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,267,541. Croda International has a 1-year low of GBX 2,426.77 and a 1-year high of GBX 3,312. The business has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 2,894.25 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 2,818.19. 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 firm has a market capitalization of £4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 67.59, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.94.

Croda International (LON:CRDA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 research analysts forecast that Croda International will post 181.8307268 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Croda International

In related news, insider Danuta Gray acquired 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 2,788 per share, for a total transaction of £20,910. Also, insider Tom Brophy sold 1,020 shares of the company's 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 transaction of £27,050.40. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 771 shares of company stock worth $2,152,788. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Croda International Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.