Whitbread (LON:WTB) Stock Price Down 11.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) were down 11.3% during trading on Saturday . The stock traded as low as GBX 2,490 and last traded at GBX 2,493.73. Approximately 2,620,126 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 2,415,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,812.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WTB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Whitbread from GBX 2,800 to GBX 2,900 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Peel Hunt restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,500 price target on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Panmure Gordon restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,700 target price on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 3,480.

Whitbread Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 3,004.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 2,999.22. The firm has a market cap of £4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Whitbread (LON:WTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported GBX 133.70 EPS for the quarter. Whitbread had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 8.08%. Equities analysts predict that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard Gillingwater acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,974 per share, with a total value of £14,870. Also, insider Christine Mary Hodgson purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 2,880 per share, for a total transaction of £288,000. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.