Whitbread (LON:WTB) Shares Down 11.3% – What’s Next?

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB)’s share price was down 11.3% during trading on Friday . 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 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Whitbread Trading Down 11.3%

The company has a market cap of £4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 3,004.93 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 2,997.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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%. Research analysts anticipate that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard Gillingwater acquired 500 shares of Whitbread 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 2,880 per share, with a total value of £288,000. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.