Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF – Get Rating) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 2,043.33 ($25.60).

Several equities research analysts have commented on ABF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,180 ($27.31) to GBX 2,300 ($28.81) and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,680 ($21.04) to GBX 1,760 ($22.05) and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a GBX 1,750 ($21.92) target price on shares of Associated British Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a report on Monday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Associated British Foods to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from GBX 2,150 ($26.93) to GBX 2,250 ($28.18) in a report on Tuesday.

Associated British Foods Stock Performance

LON ABF opened at GBX 1,905.50 ($23.87) on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of £14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,009.47, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 1,955.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 1,806.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.61, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.89. Associated British Foods has a 52 week low of GBX 1,223 ($15.32) and a 52 week high of GBX 2,076 ($26.01).

Associated British Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a GBX 14.20 ($0.18) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. This represents a yield of 0.69%. Associated British Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,631.58%.

About Associated British Foods

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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.