Whitbread (LON:WTB) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) passed 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WTB shares. Berenberg Bank reduced their price objective on Whitbread from GBX 3,900 ($53.00) to GBX 3,500 ($47.57) and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Whitbread in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Whitbread presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of GBX 2,280 ($30.99).

Whitbread Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of £5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 2,830.41 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 2,731.95.

Whitbread (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current year.

Whitbread announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Whitbread

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

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.