Nichols (LON:NICL) Shares Cross Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Nichols plc (LON:NICL) shares fell below their 200-day moving average for the first time, trading as low as GBX 1,070 ($14.34) versus the average of GBX 1,253.62 ($16.80).
• Despite the share price drop, analyst Berenberg Bank has increased its price target for Nichols from GBX 1,760 to GBX 1,820, maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The company reported a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 18.96% during its latest earnings announcement, projecting earnings of approximately 62.44 pence per share for the current fiscal year.

Nichols plc (LON:NICL - Get Free Report) shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 1,253.62 ($16.80) and traded as low as GBX 1,070 ($14.34). Nichols shares last traded at GBX 1,075 ($14.41), with a volume of 13,084 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Nichols from GBX 1,760 to GBX 1,820 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 1,820.

Nichols Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.73. The stock has a market cap of £394.88 million, a P/E ratio of 22.58 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is GBX 1,156.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 1,253.62.

Nichols (LON:NICL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported GBX 29.90 earnings per share for the quarter. Nichols had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 18.96%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nichols plc will post 62.4371859 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nichols Company Profile

Established in 1908, Nichols operates within the resilient soft drinks category and owns or licenses several brands. Nichols is geographically and operationally diversified, operating across three routes to market of UK Packaged, International Packaged and Out of Home. In the UK, Nichols operates across five soft drinks sub-categories: squash, flavoured carbonates, fruit drinks, energy and flavoured water.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.