Berenberg Bank Reaffirms Buy Rating for FirstGroup (LON:FGP)

FirstGroup (LON:FGP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Berenberg Bank in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a GBX 240 price target on the transport operator’s stock. Berenberg Bank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 31.29% from the company’s previous close.

FGP has been the subject of several other reports. Peel Hunt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 245 price target on shares of FirstGroup in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of FirstGroup from GBX 245 to GBX 250 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Panmure Gordon restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 250 price target on shares of FirstGroup in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of GBX 246.25.

FirstGroup Trading Down 1.7%

FGP opened at GBX 182.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 257.49. FirstGroup has a 52 week low of GBX 136.61 and a 52 week high of GBX 240.40. The stock has a market cap of £992.84 million, a PE ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of GBX 186.78 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 207.40.

FirstGroup (LON:FGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The transport operator reported GBX 9.90 earnings per share for the quarter. FirstGroup had a negative return on equity of 2.54% and a negative net margin of 0.34%. Equities research analysts predict that FirstGroup will post 17.3782772 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other FirstGroup news, insider Graham Sutherland acquired 50,000 shares of FirstGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 179 per share, for a total transaction of £89,500. Also, insider Lena Wilson CBE bought 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 178 per share, for a total transaction of £19,580. Insiders purchased a total of 61,073 shares of company stock valued at $10,923,111 over the last quarter. 1.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About FirstGroup

FirstGroup plc provides public transport services in the United Kingdom. The company operates through First Bus and First Rail segments. The First Bus segment offers local bus services with a fleet of approximately 4,900 buses in the United Kingdom. The First Rail segment operates a passenger rail network that provides long-distance, commuter, regional, and sleeper services through a portfolio of Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express, and Avanti West Coast franchises; and hull trains and Lumos.