Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares of Reckitt Benckiser hit a new 52-week low of GBX 4,574 (last GBX 4,595), falling about 7.8% with roughly 41.8 million shares changing hands versus a prior close of GBX 5,066.
• Analyst backdrop is mixed: Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy and GBX 7,000 target while multiple brokers cut targets and issued Hold/sector perform ratings; the MarketBeat consensus is a Hold with a target of GBX 6,219.86.
• Fundamentals show tight liquidity and high leverage—current ratio 0.85, quick ratio 0.46, debt-to-equity 108.83—while valuation metrics include a PE of 9.59 and market cap of £30.05bn; the company reported quarterly EPS of £122.58 with a net margin of 25.23% and ROE of 38.45%.

Shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (LON:RKT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 4,574 and last traded at GBX 4,595, with a volume of 41756484 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 5,066.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on RKT. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a GBX 7,000 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from GBX 6,400 to GBX 6,200 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 5,500 to GBX 5,460 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 5,900 to GBX 5,600 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut their price objective on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 5,647 to GBX 5,479 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Reckitt Benckiser Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 6,219.86.

Reckitt Benckiser Group Stock Down 7.8%

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 108.83. The stock has a market capitalization of £30.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is GBX 5,589.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 5,827.88.

Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported £122.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Reckitt Benckiser Group had a net margin of 25.23% and a return on equity of 38.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Reckitt Benckiser Group plc will post 331.2110727 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Reckitt Benckiser Group

At Reckitt, we protect, heal and nurture. We are the company behind some of the world's best known and most trusted Health and Hygiene consumer brands. Delivering for a cleaner, healthier world requires strong brands with a global footprint. From Dettol, Lysol, Durex, Finish, Harpic and Vanish, Mucinex, Nurofen, Gaviscon, Veet and Strepsils, consumers love and rely on our brands to care for their families, as they have done for over 200 years. We use our scientific expertise and deep human understanding to develop solutions to help people improve their lives – that is why over 30 million Reckitt products are sold each day worldwide. At Reckitt, we're all making a real difference to people all over the world, every day.

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