SSP Group (LON:SSPG) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as GBX 191.30 and last traded at GBX 191.20, with a volume of 4362479 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 185.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SSPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of SSP Group from GBX 190 to GBX 170 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Shore Capital restated a “house stock” rating on shares of SSP Group in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of SSP Group from GBX 285 to GBX 262 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 310 price objective (down previously from GBX 330) on shares of SSP Group in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Peel Hunt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 275 target price on shares of SSP Group in a report on Friday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 229.50.

SSP Group Stock Up 3.2%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 157.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 163.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 852.29. The firm has a market capitalization of £1.52 billion, a PE ratio of -63.83, a PEG ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.88.

SSP Group (LON:SSPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported GBX 11 EPS for the quarter. SSP Group had a net margin of 0.24% and a return on equity of 3.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SSP Group plc will post 13.1004016 earnings per share for the current year.

SSP Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 9th that authorizes the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Karina Deacon acquired 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 171 per share, with a total value of £30,780. Also, insider Apurvi Sheth bought 4,000 shares of SSP Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 165 per share, for a total transaction of £6,600. Insiders purchased 227,675 shares of company stock valued at $38,884,478 over the last 90 days. 1.01% 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.