Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as GBX 2,686 and last traded at GBX 2,682, with a volume of 568879 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,640.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BNZL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Bunzl from GBX 2,580 to GBX 2,610 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 1,900 price target on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 2,350 price objective on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a GBX 2,200 price target on shares of Bunzl in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Bunzl from £280 to £300 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bunzl has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 5,906.25.

Bunzl Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of GBX 2,453.42 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,263.28. The company has a market cap of £8.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frank van Zanten sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,394, for a total value of £359,100. 0.48% of the stock is owned by 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. It also provides food packaging, disposable tableware, guest amenities, catering equipment, agricultural supplies, cleaning and hygiene products, and safety items to hotels, restaurants, contract caterers, food processors, commercial growers, and the leisure sector; and gloves, boots, hard hats, ear and eye protection, and other workwear, as well as cleaning and hygiene supplies, and asset protection products to industrial and construction, and ecommerce sectors.