Whitbread (LON:WTB) Shares Down 9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Whitbread plc shares fell by 9% during trading, reaching a low of GBX 2,894 ($38.79) before settling at GBX 2,932.30 ($39.31).
• Analysts hold a Moderate Buy consensus rating for the stock, with price targets ranging from GBX 3,500 to GBX 3,800.
• The company reported earnings per share of GBX 133.70 for the latest quarter and has a projected EPS of 227.19 for the current year.

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) shares traded down 9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as GBX 2,894 ($38.79) and last traded at GBX 2,932.30 ($39.31). 1,723,143 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 1,678,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,224 ($43.22).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered their price target on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,900 to GBX 3,500 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 3,650.

Whitbread Stock Down 9.0%

The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 3,152.79 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,921.34. The stock has a market cap of £5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 2,085.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Whitbread (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported GBX 133.70 earnings per share for the quarter. Whitbread had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 6.83%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 earnings per share for the current year.

Whitbread Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.