Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Shares Down 24.4% – Here’s What Happened

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) shares dropped 24.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,218 ($29.35) and last traded at GBX 2,327.73 ($30.81). Approximately 5,287,830 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 115% from the average daily volume of 2,465,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,078 ($40.74).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BNZL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($37.06) target price on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bunzl presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 3,375 ($44.67).

Bunzl Stock Down 24.4 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is GBX 3,114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 3,338.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00. The firm has a market cap of £7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.57) EPS for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bunzl plc will post 213.3413462 earnings per share for the current year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a GBX 53.80 ($0.71) dividend. This is an increase from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a yield of 1.8%. Bunzl’s payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bunzl news, insider Frank van Zanten purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 3,037 ($40.19) per share, with a total value of £121,480 ($160,772.90). Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

About Bunzl

Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and personal protection equipment to grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.