Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Associated British Foods (LON:ABF)

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Digital Look reports. They presently have a GBX 1,925 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price points to a potential upside of 3.90% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Shore Capital Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,710 to GBX 1,600 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Associated British Foods to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from GBX 2,050 to GBX 1,850 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 1,650 price objective on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,940 to GBX 1,780 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated British Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of GBX 1,761.

Associated British Foods Price Performance

Shares of ABF traded up GBX 18.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting GBX 1,852.67. 1,680,519 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,218,335. The company has a market cap of £13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.84. Associated British Foods has a fifty-two week low of GBX 1,559 and a fifty-two week high of GBX 2,359. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is GBX 1,888.54 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 2,020.55.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported GBX 62.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of GBX 947 billion for the quarter. Associated British Foods had a return on equity of 9.30% and a net margin of 5.27%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Associated British Foods will post 188.0990415 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated British Foods News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: ABF confirmed plans to demerge Primark from its food group — the strategic split could clarify valuations between the higher-growth retail arm and the lower-margin food operations, a common catalyst for rerating. Primark to split from food business
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary and retail press flagged the demerger as a buying opportunity, which likely supported the intraday rally. Time to buy Associated British Foods?
• Neutral Sentiment: ABF reported quarterly results (GBX 62.70 EPS; revenue GBX 947bn) with modest margins and ROE ~9.3% — not clearly beat-or-miss, so the print is a mixed fundamental input while investors focus on demerger detail. Conference call and slide deck are available for further detail. Listen to Conference Call View Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews and week-ahead coverage flagged the results and demerger as key near-term catalysts to watch (timing, structure, capital allocation). Q2 earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target from GBX 1,940 to GBX 1,780 and moved to a “neutral” rating, which can weigh on sentiment while investors assess the demerger impact. JPMorgan lowers target
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed an “underperform” rating with a GBX 1,650 target — another bearish anchor that may pressure the stock until analysts update models for the split. Jefferies underperform LSE broker ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary noted ABF underperformed peers after the release, reflecting mixed reaction to results and broker moves. MarketWatch: ABF falls

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.