Whitbread (LON:WTB) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,728.72 ($37.09) and traded as high as GBX 2,959 ($40.21). Whitbread shares last traded at GBX 2,925 ($39.75), with a volume of 248,487 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($50.29) to GBX 3,300 ($44.85) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Shore Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 2,413.33 ($32.80).

Whitbread Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of £5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,830.41 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 2,731.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18.

Whitbread (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported GBX 194.60 ($2.64) EPS for the quarter. Whitbread had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 8.08%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Whitbread news, insider Dominic Paul sold 3,206 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,790 ($37.92), for a total transaction of £89,447.40 ($121,564.83). Also, insider Hemant Patel sold 2,607 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,790 ($37.92), for a total value of £72,735.30 ($98,852.00). 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.