Whitbread (LON:WTB) Trading Down 11.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) dropped 11.3% during mid-day 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 changed 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

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WTB shares. Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Panmure Gordon reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,700 price objective on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Peel Hunt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,500 target price on shares of Whitbread in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, October 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Whitbread currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 3,480.

Whitbread Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of £4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 3,004.93 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 2,999.22.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Richard Gillingwater acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,974 per share, for a total transaction of £14,870. Also, insider Christine Mary Hodgson acquired 10,000 shares of the 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. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Whitbread Company Profile

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.