Marston’s (LON:MARS) Shares Down 13.4% – Time to Sell?

Marston’s PLC (LON:MARS)’s share price dropped 13.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 57.45 and last traded at GBX 59.70. Approximately 107,206,734 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1,216% from the average daily volume of 8,147,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 68.90.

Marston’s News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Marston’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong festive trading: Marston’s reported like?for?like sales growth of ~4% over the holiday period, which management cites as evidence of recovery in footfall and consumer demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Roll?out of new pub formats accelerating: Company says an accelerated roll?out programme for updated pub formats is driving further trading momentum and improved site performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Operator recruitment and retention push: Marston’s launched an industry?first induction programme for pub partners to attract and retain operators — a structural move to support roll?out and margins over time. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on Marston’s, which provides broker backing for the recovery story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Debate over activist investor view: Coverage arguing against a short?term activist thesis may reduce takeover/reshuffle headlines but has unclear near?term share impact. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to quarterly sales: Reports say quarterly sales were flat, prompting a sharp intraday sell?off (heavy volume) as investors appeared disappointed by the underlying quarterly print despite the strong festive LFL comparatives. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MARS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marston’s from GBX 78 to GBX 85 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Marston’s in a research note on Wednesday. Panmure Gordon restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 80 price objective on shares of Marston’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Peel Hunt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 75 target price on shares of Marston’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of GBX 80.

Marston’s Trading Down 13.4%

The business’s fifty day moving average is GBX 60.37 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 48.19. The firm has a market cap of £377.55 million, a P/E ratio of 5.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 198.96, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Marston’s (LON:MARS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 15th. The company reported GBX 8.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Marston’s had a negative net margin of 1.91% and a negative return on equity of 2.72%. Analysts predict that Marston’s PLC will post 8.364486 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Justin Platt purchased 158,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 59 per share, with a total value of £93,402.31. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

About Marston’s

Marston’s PLC operates managed, franchised, tenanted, partnership, and leased pubs in the United Kingdom. It is also involved in the property management; telecommunications; and insurance businesses. The company was formerly known as The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC and changed its name to Marston’s PLC in January 2007. The company was founded in 1834 and is based in Wolverhampton, the United Kingdom.