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

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB)’s share price dropped 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 changed hands during mid-day 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 Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTB. Panmure Gordon reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,700 price objective on shares of Whitbread in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Peel Hunt reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,500 price target on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Whitbread from GBX 2,800 to GBX 2,900 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five research 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.com, Whitbread currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 3,480.

Whitbread Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 3,004.93 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,999.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18. 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 earnings per share for the quarter. Whitbread had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 8.08%. As a group, research analysts predict that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard Gillingwater purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 2,974 per share, with a total value of £14,870. Also, insider Christine Mary Hodgson bought 10,000 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 2,880 per share, with a total value 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.