SSP Group (LON:SSPG) Trading 14.7% Higher After Dividend Announcement

SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG)’s stock price traded up 14.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as GBX 172.40 and last traded at GBX 169.81. 8,784,259 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 157% from the average session volume of 3,422,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 148.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSPG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Peel Hunt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 275 price target on shares of SSP Group in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 190 target price on shares of SSP Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 310 price target (down previously from GBX 330) on shares of SSP Group in a research note on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of SSP Group from GBX 190 to GBX 170 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of SSP Group from GBX 285 to GBX 262 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 232.83.

SSP Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 852.29. The firm has a market cap of £1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.93, a P/E/G ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 156.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 162.69.

SSP Group (LON:SSPG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported GBX 11 earnings per share for the quarter. SSP Group had a net margin of 0.24% and a return on equity of 3.64%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SSP Group plc will post 13.1004016 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SSP Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 9th that allows the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tim Lodge purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 172 per share, with a total value of £25,800. Also, insider Patrick Coveney purchased 149,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 168 per share, for a total transaction of £251,443.92. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 182,751 shares of company stock worth $30,814,856. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About SSP Group

SSP is a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, with c.37,000 colleagues in over 600 locations across 36 countries. We operate sit-down and quick service restaurants, cafes, lounges and food-led convenience stores, principally in airports and train stations, with a portfolio of more than 550 international, national and local brands.