Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT) Releases Earnings Results

Key Points

• Reckitt Benckiser Group reported quarterly earnings of GBX 147.08 EPS, with a strong return on equity of 45.27% and net margin of 22.40%.
• The stock rose GBX 21 on the day to GBX 5,018, but it still trades below its 12-month high and under both its 200-day moving average and recent analyst consensus target.
• Analysts currently rate the shares a Hold overall, with a consensus price target of about GBX 6,204; recent insider trading was mixed, including one purchase and one sale.

Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Friday. The company reported GBX 147.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. Reckitt Benckiser Group had a return on equity of 45.27% and a net margin of 22.40%.

Reckitt Benckiser Group Price Performance

Shares of RKT stock traded up GBX 21 on Friday, reaching GBX 5,018. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,970,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,951,900. The company has a market capitalization of £31.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.25. Reckitt Benckiser Group has a 12-month low of GBX 3,866 and a 12-month high of GBX 6,522.92. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 4,714.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 5,376.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 108.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a GBX 6,200 target price on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Berenberg Bank dropped their target price on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 7,000 to GBX 6,200 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 7,000 to GBX 6,200 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a GBX 5,600 price target on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 5,460 to GBX 5,430 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of GBX 6,204.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Shannon Eisenhardt acquired 432 shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of £432 per share, for a total transaction of £186,624. Also, insider Kris Licht sold 5,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 4,753, for a total value of £258,325.55. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,029 shares of company stock worth $21,416,350. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Reckitt Benckiser Group Company Profile

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.