Pennon Group Plc provides clean water and wastewater services in the United Kingdom. It provides water and wastewater services for customers in Cornwall, Devon, and parts of Dorset and Somerset; water-only services in the areas of Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire; and water and wastewater retail services to non-household customers in Great Britain. The company also offers regulated water to approximately 1.2 million customers in the Bristol region. It serves approximately 50 million household and non-household customers. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Exeter, the United Kingdom.
Pennon Group Trading Down 0.3 %
Shares of PNN traded down GBX 3 ($0.04) during trading hours on Friday, hitting GBX 1,022 ($12.35). 484,428 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 947,382. Pennon Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 932.81 ($11.27) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 1,335 ($16.13). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 251.21, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of GBX 1,005.39 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 1,035.14. The firm has a market capitalization of £2.69 billion and a P/E ratio of 20,440.00.
Pennon Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 21st will be given a dividend of GBX 26.83 ($0.32) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 21st. This is a boost from Pennon Group's previous dividend of $11.70. This represents a dividend yield of 2.61%. Pennon Group's dividend payout ratio is 683.20%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 1,160 ($14.02) price objective on shares of Pennon Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a GBX 1,300 ($15.71) price target on shares of Pennon Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a GBX 1,050 ($12.69) price target on shares of Pennon Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Pennon Group from GBX 1,200 ($14.50) to GBX 1,070 ($12.93) and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Pennon Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 1,134.29 ($13.71).
Insider Transactions at Pennon Group
In other news, insider Paul Boote sold 2,906 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 980 ($11.84), for a total transaction of £28,478.80 ($34,411.31).