Croda International (LON:CRDA) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Croda International Plc (LON:CRDA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as GBX 3,520.24 and last traded at GBX 3,465, with a volume of 475359 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,457.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRDA. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,600 price objective on shares of Croda International in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Croda International from GBX 3,050 to GBX 3,200 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,500 target price on shares of Croda International in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 3,300 price target on shares of Croda International in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 3,390.

Croda International Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of £4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 36.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 3,131.09 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 2,988.85.

Croda International (LON:CRDA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported GBX 72.20 earnings per share for the quarter. Croda International had a return on equity of 3.65% and a net margin of 4.61%. On average, analysts expect that Croda International Plc will post 181.8307268 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stephen Oxley sold 1,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 3,214, for a total value of £43,035.46. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 35 shares of company stock worth $107,620. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Croda International

Founded in 1925 with the aim of turning bio-based raw materials into innovative ingredients, Croda International is a speciality chemicals company focused on consumer care and life sciences markets. The company is focused on creating, making and selling innovative ingredients that deliver real benefits to a diverse range of customers and employs more than 6,000 people around the world. Sustainability is a core part of the Groups strategy with a commitment to be Climate, Land and People positive by 2030.