Brokerages Set Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) Target Price at GBX 2,860

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 2,860 ($38.76).

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Whitbread to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Whitbread from GBX 3,700 ($50.14) to GBX 3,300 ($44.72) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Whitbread in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Whitbread

In related news, insider Dominic Paul sold 3,206 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,790 ($37.81), for a total transaction of £89,447.40 ($121,218.86). Also, insider Hemant Patel sold 2,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,790 ($37.81), for a total transaction of £72,735.30 ($98,570.67). Company insiders own 1.03% of the company's stock.

Whitbread Price Performance

LON:WTB traded down GBX 49 ($0.66) on Wednesday, reaching GBX 2,840 ($38.49). 881,057 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,259,727. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 2,653.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 2,744.06. Whitbread has a 12 month low of GBX 2,253 ($30.53) and a 12 month high of GBX 3,352 ($45.43). The firm has a market cap of £5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G 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.

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

Whitbread declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.