Whitbread (LON:WTB) Stock Price Down 11.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) dropped 11.3% during mid-day 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 were traded during trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 2,415,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,812.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Whitbread Trading Down 11.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business’s 50-day moving average is GBX 3,018.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 2,999.53. The firm has a market cap of £4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Whitbread (LON:WTB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported GBX 133.70 EPS for the quarter. Whitbread had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 6.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christine Mary Hodgson purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 2,880 per share, for a total transaction of £288,000. Also, insider Richard Gillingwater purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 2,974 per share, for a total transaction of £14,870. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.