Marston’s (LON:MARS) Stock Price Down 13.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Marston’s PLC (LON:MARS) fell 13.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as GBX 57.45 and last traded at GBX 59.70. 107,206,734 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1,216% from the average session volume of 8,147,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 68.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MARS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Marston’s from GBX 78 to GBX 85 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Marston’s in a research note on Wednesday. Panmure Gordon restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 80 price objective on shares of Marston’s in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Peel Hunt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 75 price objective on shares of Marston’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Marston’s presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of GBX 80.

Marston’s Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 198.96, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is GBX 61.09 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 48.48. The company has a market capitalization of £381.98 million, a PE ratio of 5.44, a PEG ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 1.68.

Marston’s (LON:MARS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 15th. The company reported GBX 8.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Marston’s had a negative net margin of 1.91% and a negative return on equity of 2.72%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marston’s PLC will post 8.364486 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Marston’s

In related news, insider Justin Platt bought 158,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 59 per share, with a total value of £93,402.31. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Marston’s Company Profile

Marston’s PLC operates managed, franchised, tenanted, partnership, and leased pubs in the United Kingdom. It is also involved in the property management; telecommunications; and insurance businesses. The company was formerly known as The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC and changed its name to Marston’s PLC in January 2007. The company was founded in 1834 and is based in Wolverhampton, the United Kingdom.