Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Trading Down 24.4% – Time to Sell?

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) shares fell 24.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,218 ($29.43) and last traded at GBX 2,327.73 ($30.88). 5,287,830 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 115% from the average session volume of 2,465,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,078 ($40.84).

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNZL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup raised Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bunzl currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 3,375 ($44.78).

Bunzl Stock Up 0.4 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 3,071.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 3,319.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of £7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Bunzl Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Bunzl

In related news, insider Frank van Zanten bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 purchased 8,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 2,338 ($31.02) per share, for a total transaction of £198,239.02 ($263,021.12). 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.