Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Earns Hold Rating from Shore Capital Group

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by research analysts at Shore Capital Group in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

ABF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,100 to GBX 1,925 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 1,830 to GBX 1,710 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 1,650 price objective on shares of Associated British Foods in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Associated British Foods from GBX 2,095 to GBX 1,940 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of GBX 1,806.25.

Associated British Foods Stock Performance

LON:ABF opened at GBX 1,828 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.33. The company has a market capitalization of £12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 1,895.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 2,035.43. Associated British Foods has a twelve month low of GBX 1,729.45 and a twelve month high of GBX 2,359.

Associated British Foods News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Associated British Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CMA clears the Hovis deal in Great Britain, removing a major regulatory obstacle in the GB market and improving the likelihood of realizing cost and distribution synergies there. ABF’s Hovis merger cleared by CMA in Britain
• Neutral Sentiment: Shore Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on ABF, signalling limited broker enthusiasm and potentially capping short-term upside until regulatory clarity improves. London Stock Exchange broker ratings
• Negative Sentiment: UK competition regulator flags competition concerns over the Hovis acquisition in Northern Ireland — this raises the prospect of remedies, divestitures or delays specific to NI that could complicate or reduce expected deal benefits. CMA finds competition concerns over ABF’s acquisition of Hovis in Northern Ireland but not Great Britain
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage says the deal “hits a snag” and that failure or heavy remedies could put ABF’s bakery arm at risk — heightening execution risk and uncertainty around integration value if Northern Ireland remedies are onerous. ABF — Hovis merger hits snag
• Negative Sentiment: Media note that proposed bread mergers would leave Northern Ireland with just two commercial bakeries, underpinning the regulator’s scrutiny and the risk of tighter conditions or divestments. Proposed bread mergers ‘would leave Northern Ireland with just two commercial bakeries’

Associated British Foods Company Profile

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £13.9bn, 128,000 employees and operations in 53 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia.

Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food, and clothing that is great value for money. With the breadth of our business, our brands and global reach, ABF aims to consistently deliver value to its stakeholders.

Our business is split into five segments: Grocery; Sugar; Agriculture; Ingredients; and Retail.