Grainger (LON:GRI) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Grainger plc (LON:GRI) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 193.25 and traded as high as GBX 196.60. Grainger shares last traded at GBX 190.61, with a volume of 2,632,218 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GRI. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Grainger from GBX 267 to GBX 270 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Peel Hunt cut their price objective on Grainger from GBX 220 to GBX 200 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 235.

Grainger Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of £1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 84.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is GBX 185.43 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 192.87.

Grainger (LON:GRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported GBX 9.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Grainger had a negative return on equity of 0.06% and a negative net margin of 0.40%. Analysts anticipate that Grainger plc will post 10.4590732 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert Hudson sold 25,820 shares of Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 181, for a total transaction of £46,734.20. Also, insider Michael Brodtman bought 16,129 shares of Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 186 per share, with a total value of £29,999.94. Insiders have bought 16,457 shares of company stock worth $3,059,848 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

About Grainger

Founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1912, Grainger plc, a FTSE 250 business, is the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and a leader in the fast-growing build-to-rent sector, providing c.11,000 rental homes to over 25,000 customers. With a pipeline of secured build-to-rent development projects totalling c.4,300 homes and £1.3bn, Grainger is creating thousands more rental homes by investing in cities across the UK.

Grainger works in partnership with a large number of public sector organisations to deliver new homes to local communities, including Transport for London, Network Rail, the Ministry of Defence, Lewisham Borough Council and the Local Pensions Partnership.

The Grainger team is dedicated to the common purpose of Renting Homes, Enriching Lives, backed by a set of core values.