Whitbread (LON:WTB) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Whitbread plc's stock price recently surpassed its 200-day moving average, indicating potential upward momentum in trading.
• The company received mixed ratings from analysts, with recent target prices adjusted downwards while maintaining overall buy recommendations.
• Insider activity included a small purchase by one executive and a larger sale by another, highlighting mixed sentiments among corporate insiders about the stock.

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,754.36 ($36.57) and traded as high as GBX 3,122 ($41.46). Whitbread shares last traded at GBX 3,053 ($40.54), with a volume of 791,601 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTB shares. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,900 ($51.79) to GBX 3,500 ($46.47) and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($49.13) to GBX 3,300 ($43.82) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Whitbread currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of GBX 2,280 ($30.27).

Whitbread Stock Down 0.1%

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 firm has a market capitalization of £5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is GBX 2,941.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 2,752.20.

Whitbread (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported GBX 194.60 ($2.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Whitbread had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 6.83%. Research analysts expect that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current year.

Whitbread announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Whitbread

In other Whitbread news, insider Kal Atwal bought 269 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,843 ($37.75) per share, with a total value of £7,647.67 ($10,154.92). Also, insider Dominic Paul sold 3,206 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,790 ($37.05), for a total transaction of £89,447.40 ($118,772.27). 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.