Shore Capital Group Reiterates Hold Rating for Associated British Foods (LON:ABF)

Key Points

• Shore Capital reiterated a Hold on Associated British Foods, while several other brokers cut price targets and issued Neutral/Underperform/Sell ratings, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of Reduce with an average target of GBX 1,793.
• ABF traded at GBX 1,876 mid-day (up GBX 29.50) on unusually high volume—179,267,484 shares versus an average of 8,273,204—reflecting elevated market activity around the stock.
• The company has a market capitalization of £13.19bn and a P/E of 13.25, with technicals showing a 50-day moving average (GBX 1,893.10) below the 200-day (GBX 2,025.47) and a 52-week range of GBX 1,729.45–2,359, suggesting recent downward pressure.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Shore Capital Group in a report issued on Friday,Digital Look reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,095 to GBX 1,940 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Associated British Foods to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from GBX 2,050 to GBX 1,850 in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,100 to GBX 1,925 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,710 to GBX 1,600 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and set a GBX 1,650 price objective on shares of Associated British Foods in a report on Friday, January 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of GBX 1,793.

Associated British Foods Price Performance

ABF stock traded up GBX 29.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching GBX 1,876. 179,267,484 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,273,204. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.33, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of £13.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.84. Associated British Foods has a 52-week low of GBX 1,729.45 and a 52-week high of GBX 2,359. The company has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 1,893.10 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 2,025.47.

About Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £13.9bn, 128,000 employees and operations in 53 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia. Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food, and clothing that is great value for money. With the breadth of our business, our brands and global reach, ABF aims to consistently deliver value to its stakeholders. Our business is split into five segments: Grocery; Sugar; Agriculture; Ingredients; and Retail.

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