Whitbread (LON:WTB) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 2,736.79 ($36.74) and traded as high as GBX 3,129 ($42.00). Whitbread shares last traded at GBX 3,121 ($41.89), with a volume of 440,725 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WTB. Berenberg Bank reduced their price target on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,900 ($52.35) to GBX 3,500 ($46.98) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Shore Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($49.66) to GBX 3,300 ($44.30) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 2,280 ($30.60).

Whitbread Stock Up 2.0%

The stock has a market cap of £5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 2,877.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 2,738.42.

Whitbread (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported GBX 194.60 ($2.61) EPS for the quarter. Whitbread had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 8.08%. Analysts expect that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current year.

Whitbread declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dominic Paul sold 3,206 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,790 ($37.45), for a total transaction of £89,447.40 ($120,063.62). Also, 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 ($37.45), for a total value of £72,735.30 ($97,631.28). Company 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.