Unite Group (LON:UTG) Shares Down 9.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Unite Group PLC's shares fell by 9.3% during mid-day trading, reaching GBX 640.50 ($8.60), with a significant decline in trading volume of 48% from average levels.
• Analysts from Citigroup have set a price target of GBX 1,205 for the stock, maintaining a "buy" rating, while the consensus rating remains a "buy" with the same target.
• Unite Group reported a net margin of 79.68% and earnings per share of GBX 38 for the last quarter, with projections for nearly 48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shares of Unite Group PLC (LON:UTG - Get Free Report) were down 9.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 640 ($8.59) and last traded at GBX 640.50 ($8.60). Approximately 1,319,961 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 2,529,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 706.50 ($9.49).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a GBX 1,205 price objective on shares of Unite Group in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Unite Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of GBX 1,205.

Unite Group Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is GBX 720.30 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 792.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 38.76, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of £3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 919.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Unite Group (LON:UTG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported GBX 38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Unite Group had a net margin of 79.68% and a return on equity of 6.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unite Group PLC will post 47.9341004 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Unite Group

In other Unite Group news, insider Joe Lister purchased 11,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 690 per share, for a total transaction of £78,584.10. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

About Unite Group

Unite Students is the UK's largest owner, manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation, serving the country's world-leading Higher Education sector. We provide homes to 70,000 students across 157 properties in 23 leading university towns and cities. We currently partner with over 60 universities across the UK.

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