Associated British Foods plc operates as a diversified food, ingredients, and retail company worldwide. It operates through five segments: Grocery, Sugar, Agriculture, Ingredients, and Retail. The Grocery segment manufactures and sells grocery products, including hot beverages, sugar and sweeteners, vegetable oils, balsamic vinegars, bread and baked goods, cereals, ethnic foods, and meat products to retail, wholesale, and foodservice businesses. The Sugar segment is involved in growing, processing, and selling sugar beet and sugar cane to industrial users. The Agriculture segment manufactures and sells animal feeds; and provides other products and services for the agriculture sector. The Ingredients segment manufactures bakers' yeast, bakery ingredients, enzymes, lipids, yeast extracts, and cereal specialties. The Retail segment is involved in buying and merchandising clothing and accessories through the Primark and Penneys retail chains, which offer womenswear, menswear, children's wear, footwear, accessories, homeware, and skincare products. The company was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Associated British Foods plc is a subsidiary of Wittington Investments Limited.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a GBX 1,850 ($22.35) price target on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Monday, May 30th. Shore Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a research report on Thursday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Associated British Foods to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from GBX 1,940 ($23.44) to GBX 1,900 ($22.96) in a research report on Tuesday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,900 ($22.96) to GBX 1,850 ($22.35) and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a research report on Wednesday, May 11th. Four 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, Associated British Foods has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 2,161.67 ($26.12).
Associated British Foods Price Performance
Shares of LON:ABF opened at GBX 1,657.50 ($20.03) on Tuesday. Associated British Foods has a 1-year low of GBX 1,462.50 ($17.67) and a 1-year high of GBX 2,181 ($26.35). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 37.25, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 1,631.15 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 1,693.99. The company has a market capitalization of £13.12 billion and a PE ratio of 1,673.23.
Insider Activity
In related news, insider Wolfhart Hauser purchased 3,243 shares of Associated British Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 1,534 ($18.54) per share, for a total transaction of £49,747.62 ($60,110.71).