Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT) Trading Up 2.6% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose ~2.6% intraday to GBX 6,289 after trading as high as GBX 6,300, on light volume (4.22M shares, ~49% below the ~8.23M average).
• Analyst stance is mixed with a consensus "Hold" — three Buy and four Hold ratings leave a MarketBeat consensus price target of GBX 6,279, roughly in line with the current share price.
• Fundamentals show high valuation and leverage — market cap £41.35B, P/E 33.8 and PEG 1.10, alongside a high debt-to-equity of 110.26 and weak liquidity (current ratio 0.69, quick ratio 0.46).

Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (LON:RKT - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 6,300 and last traded at GBX 6,289. 4,216,770 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 8,225,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 6,127.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a GBX 7,000 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from GBX 6,400 to GBX 6,200 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 5,500 to GBX 5,700 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 7,700 price objective on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 5,600 to GBX 5,700 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Reckitt Benckiser Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of GBX 6,279.29.

Reckitt Benckiser Group Stock Up 2.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of £41.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is GBX 6,033.85 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 5,801.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 110.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

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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