Whitbread (LON:WTB) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Shares of Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,741 ($37.22) and traded as high as GBX 2,912 ($39.54). Whitbread shares last traded at GBX 2,889 ($39.23), with a volume of 326,442 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WTB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Whitbread to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($50.24) to GBX 3,300 ($44.81) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 2,860 ($38.83).

Whitbread Stock Down 1.7%

The business's 50 day moving average price is GBX 2,710.86 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 2,738.91. The firm has a market capitalization of £4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Whitbread (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported GBX 194.60 ($2.64) 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 research analysts forecast that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 earnings per share for the current year.

Whitbread declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Whitbread news, insider Hemant Patel sold 2,607 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,790 ($37.88), for a total transaction of £72,735.30 ($98,758.04). Also, insider Kal Atwal purchased 269 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,843 ($38.60) per share, for a total transaction of £7,647.67 ($10,383.80). Insiders own 1.03% of the company's stock.

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.