SSP Group (LON:SSPG) Shares Up 14.8% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG) rose 14.8% on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as GBX 170.70 and last traded at GBX 170. Approximately 7,672,920 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 124% from the average daily volume of 3,417,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 148.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SSPG has been the topic of several research reports. Shore Capital restated a “house stock” rating on shares of SSP Group in a report on Thursday. Peel Hunt restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 275 target price on shares of SSP Group in a report on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 310 price target (down previously from GBX 330) on shares of SSP Group in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 190 price target on shares of SSP Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on SSP Group from GBX 285 to GBX 262 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 232.83.

SSP Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 156.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 162.69. The stock has a market cap of £1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.93, a PEG ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 852.29.

SSP Group (LON:SSPG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported GBX 11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. SSP Group had a return on equity of 3.64% and a net margin of 0.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SSP Group plc will post 13.1004016 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SSP Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 9th that allows the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Karina Deacon purchased 18,000 shares of SSP Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 171 per share, for a total transaction of £30,780. Also, insider Tim Lodge acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 172 per share, for a total transaction of £25,800. Insiders acquired a total of 182,751 shares of company stock valued at $30,814,856 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About SSP Group

SSP is a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, with c.37,000 colleagues in over 600 locations across 36 countries. We operate sit-down and quick service restaurants, cafes, lounges and food-led convenience stores, principally in airports and train stations, with a portfolio of more than 550 international, national and local brands.