Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,375 ($43.68).

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Bunzl from GBX 3,980 ($51.51) to GBX 4,150 ($53.71) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($36.24) target price on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Bunzl Stock Down 0.7 %

Bunzl stock opened at GBX 2,966 ($38.39) on Friday. Bunzl has a fifty-two week low of GBX 2,884 ($37.33) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 3,732 ($48.30). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 3,240.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 3,395.04. The stock has a market cap of £9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.51) earnings per share for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. Research analysts predict that Bunzl will post 213.3413462 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a GBX 53.80 ($0.70) dividend. This is an increase from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. Bunzl’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Insider Activity at Bunzl

In related news, insider Frank van Zanten purchased 4,000 shares of Bunzl stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 3,037 ($39.31) per share, for a total transaction of £121,480 ($157,235.31). 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bunzl Company Profile

Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and personal protection equipment to grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.