Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Shares Down 11.4% – Here’s What Happened

Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF)’s stock price traded down 11.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as GBX 1,891 and last traded at GBX 1,904.96. 6,923,978 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 9,214,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,151.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Associated British Foods to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from GBX 2,130 to GBX 2,000 in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,830 to GBX 1,840 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,215 to GBX 2,095 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated British Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 2,058.75.

Associated British Foods Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of £13.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 2,149.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 2,150.33.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported GBX 174.90 earnings per share for the quarter. Associated British Foods had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 7.25%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Associated British Foods plc will post 188.0990415 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eoin Tonge sold 34,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,103, for a total transaction of £732,222.54. Also, insider George G. Weston sold 43,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,103, for a total transaction of £918,169.80. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £13.9bn, 128,000 employees and operations in 53 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia.

Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food, and clothing that is great value for money. With the breadth of our business, our brands and global reach, ABF aims to consistently deliver value to its stakeholders.

Our business is split into five segments: Grocery; Sugar; Agriculture; Ingredients; and Retail.