Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Stock Price Down 26.1% – Time to Sell?

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) shares dropped 26.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 2,252 ($29.88) and last traded at GBX 2,276 ($30.20). Approximately 120,840,211 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 2,917% from the average daily volume of 4,005,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,078 ($40.84).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BNZL. Citigroup raised Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bunzl presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 3,375 ($44.78).

Bunzl Trading Up 0.4 %

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 3,071.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 3,319.24. The stock has a market capitalization of £7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.58) earnings per share for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. Analysts predict that Bunzl plc will post 213.3413462 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Bunzl

In other news, insider Frank van Zanten bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 3,037 ($40.29) per share, for a total transaction of £121,480 ($161,178.19). Also, insider Richard Howes acquired 8,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 2,338 ($31.02) per share, for a total transaction of £198,239.02 ($263,021.12). 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.