Franchise Brands (LON:FRAN) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Franchise Brands plc (LON:FRAN)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as GBX 125 ($1.64) and last traded at GBX 125 ($1.64), with a volume of 27578 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 130 ($1.70).

Franchise Brands Trading Down 3.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 142.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 150.81. The company has a market capitalization of £241.61 million, a PE ratio of 31.38 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 42.67.

Franchise Brands (LON:FRAN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported GBX 8.59 ($0.11) EPS for the quarter. Franchise Brands had a net margin of 6.43% and a return on equity of 3.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Franchise Brands plc will post 11.3266098 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franchise Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of GBX 1.30 ($0.02) per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from Franchise Brands’s previous dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Franchise Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Louise George bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 148 ($1.94) per share, with a total value of £148,000 ($193,641.24). Also, insider Stephen Hemsley purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 137 ($1.79) per share, with a total value of £34,250 ($44,812.25). Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 235,000 shares of company stock valued at $33,585,000. 39.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Franchise Brands

Franchise Brands is an international, multi-brand franchisor focused on B2B van-based service with seven franchise brands and a presence in 10 countries across the UK, North America and Europe. The Group is focused on building market-leading businesses primarily via a franchise model and has a combined network of over 600 franchisees.

The Company owns several market-leading brands with long trading histories, including Pirtek in Europe, Filta, Metro Rod and Metro Plumb, all of which benefit from the Group’s central support services, particularly technology, marketing, and finance.