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

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB)’s stock price dropped 11.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,490 and last traded at GBX 2,493.73. Approximately 2,620,126 shares traded hands 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WTB. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Peel Hunt restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,500 price target on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Panmure Gordon reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,700 target price on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Whitbread currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 3,480.

Whitbread Stock Down 11.3%

The company has a market cap of £4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 3,018.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 2,999.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18.

Whitbread (LON:WTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported GBX 133.70 earnings per share (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 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.