M.P. Evans Group (MPE) Share Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

M.P. Evans Group PLC is a responsible producer of certified sustainable crude palm oil (“CPO”), with plantations in five Indonesian provinces: Aceh, Bangka Belitung, East Kalimantan, North Sumatra and South Sumatra. Headquartered in the UK, the Group’s shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”). The Group was founded by Matthew Pennefather Evans in the 1870s and its long history in tropical agriculture includes experience in tea and rubber plantations. The Group began to invest in palm oil in the 1970s and over the last 20 years has concentrated its strategy to focus exclusively on the production of sustainable palm oil in Indonesia. We operate with the philosophy of ensuring best practice in everything that we do, and we invest in the resources to do so. Our most senior agronomic managers are resident in our estates, alongside the operational management teams. They seek to maintain a system of supervision and support that focuses on high agronomic standards that prevents pollution, supports conservation, encourages staff welfare and development, and maximises yield. The Group operates mills developed on the principle of zero waste. This manifests itself in several ways: • Empty fruit bunches (“EFB”) are sent to a composting facility to produce an organic compost to be returned to the field. This compost helps to improve soil. • Fibre is saved and used as fuel for mill boilers, eliminating the need for other sources of fuel. • Shells from the fruitlets are collected and sold for additional ancillary mill income. • Wastewater from the mill is treated in a covered pond system, and the gas that is collected is used to generate bioelectricity. In this way, harmful methane emissions are minimised, and the electricity generated can be used to power Group operations, with surplus sold for additional income. As RSPO members (Membership no 1-0027-06-000-00), we integrate RSPO principles into our business practices, requiring us to: • Behave ethically and transparently • Operate legally and respect rights • Optimise productivity, efficiency, positive impacts and resilience • Respect community and human rights, and deliver benefits • Support smallholder inclusion • Respect workers’ rights and conditions • Protect, conserve and enhance ecosystems and the environment In addition to our commitments to RSPO certification, the Group also works to achieve the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (“ISCC”) and the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (“ISPO”) certification scheme.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: 1,490 to 1,546
• 50-Day Range: 1,418.91 to 1,900
• 52-Week Range: 1,005 to 1,918
• Volume: 230,187 shs
• Average Volume: 230,106 shs
• Market Capitalization: £796.21 million
• P/E Ratio: 7.20
• Dividend Yield: 3.94%
• Price Target: GBX 1,750
• Consensus Rating: Buy

M.P. Evans Group Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

M.P. Evans Group scored higher than 72% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.9 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Buy

Consensus Rating

M.P. Evans Group has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 3.00, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 1 buy rating, no hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

M.P. Evans Group has a consensus price target of GBX 1,750, representing about 14.7% upside from its current price of GBX 1,526.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

M.P. Evans Group has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: N/A

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of M.P. Evans Group is 7.20, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.81.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of M.P. Evans Group is 7.20, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Defensive sector average P/E ratio of about 885.02.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

M.P. Evans Group has a P/B Ratio of 1.65. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: N/A
• Short Interest Level: N/A

Short Interest

There is no current short interest data available for MPE.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Leadership

M.P. Evans Group is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.94%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

M.P. Evans Group does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of M.P. Evans Group is 34.92%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.9 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.62

News Sentiment

M.P. Evans Group has a news sentiment score of 0.62. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.49 average news sentiment score of Consumer Defensive companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for M.P. Evans Group this week, compared to 0 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Net Insider Buying

Over the last three months, insiders have purchased a net £9,988.17 in company stock, which represents 0.0013% of the company's market cap.

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, M.P. Evans Group insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought £9,988.17 in company stock and sold GBX 0 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

8.70% of the stock of M.P. Evans Group is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

7.85% of the stock of M.P. Evans Group is held by institutions.

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: LON
• Sector: Consumer Defensive
• Industry: Farm Products
• Sub-Industry: N/A
• Current Symbol: LON:MPE
• CIK: N/A
• Web: www.mpevans.co.uk
• Phone: +44-1892-516333
• Fax: N/A
• Employees: 12,800
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for M.P. Evans Group: GBX 1,750
• High Price Target: GBX 1,750
• Low Price Target: GBX 1,750
• Potential Upside/Downside: +14.7%
• Consensus Rating: Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 3.00
• Research Coverage: 1 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): GBX 211.80
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 7.20
• Forward P/E Ratio: 16.88
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: £80.16 million
• Net Margins: 29.97%
• Pretax Margin: N/A
• Return on Equity: 19.40%
• Return on Assets: 10.06%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 3.63
• Quick Ratio: 1.91

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: £371.00 million
• Price / Sales: 2.15
• Cash Flow: GBX 245.50 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 6.22
• Book Value: GBX 927.44 per share
• Price / Book: 1.65

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 52,176,000
• Free Float: N/A
• Market Cap: £796.21 million
• Optionable: Not Optionable
• Beta: 0.34