Quilter (LON:QLT) Given Buy Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies reissued a "buy" rating on Quilter with a target price of GBX 220, implying about a 17.3% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy (six Buys, one Hold) with an average target of GBX 206, while the stock recently traded around GBX 187.6 (50- and 200-day SMAs near GBX 182).
• Two insiders sold a combined ~1.25 million shares on April 7 at GBX 177 for roughly £2.21m in proceeds, and insiders now own just 0.36% of the company.

Quilter (LON:QLT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,London Stock Exchange reports. They presently have a GBX 220 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.27% from the stock's previous close.

QLT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Quilter from GBX 223 to GBX 212 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Quilter from GBX 170 to GBX 175 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a GBX 210 target price on shares of Quilter in a report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quilter from GBX 198 to GBX 200 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a GBX 215 target price on shares of Quilter in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quilter currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of GBX 206.

Quilter Stock Performance

Shares of QLT opened at GBX 187.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.92, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.49. The stock has a market capitalization of £2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is GBX 182.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 182.22. Quilter has a 12 month low of GBX 128.70 and a 12 month high of GBX 201.60.

Quilter (LON:QLT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 8.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Quilter had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 1.28%. As a group, analysts predict that Quilter will post 9.004676 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven Levin sold 679,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 177, for a total transaction of £1,203,594.69. Also, insider Mark Satchel sold 570,445 shares of Quilter stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 177, for a total transaction of £1,009,687.65. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Quilter

Quilter is a leading UK and cross-border full-service wealth management business, whose purpose is to help create prosperity for the generations of today and tomorrow. It has leading positions in one of the world's largest wealth markets, and its multi-channel proposition and investment performance are delivering attractive growth.

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