Whitbread (LON:WTB) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,760.17 ($36.87) and traded as high as GBX 2,842 ($37.96). Whitbread shares last traded at GBX 2,842 ($37.96), with a volume of 415,049 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WTB. Shore Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($49.42) to GBX 3,300 ($44.08) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Whitbread to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 2,860 ($38.20).

Whitbread Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is GBX 2,579.62 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 2,760.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18. The company has a market capitalization of £5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Whitbread (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported GBX 194.60 ($2.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Whitbread had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 6.83%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current year.

Whitbread declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Whitbread

In other news, insider Kal Atwal acquired 269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 2,843 ($37.97) per share, with a total value of £7,647.67 ($10,214.60). Insiders own 1.03% of the company's stock.

About Whitbread

Whitbread is the owner of Premier Inn, the UK's biggest hotel brand, with 86,000 rooms in over 850 hotels and a growing presence in Germany with 10,500 rooms in 59 hotels, offering quality accommodation at affordable prices in great locations. People are at the heart of our business. We employ over 38,000 team members in over 900 Premier Inn hotels across the UK and Germany.

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