Whitbread (LON:WTB) Stock Price Down 11.3% – Here’s What Happened

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB) was down 11.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,490 and last traded at GBX 2,493.73. Approximately 2,620,126 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 2,415,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,812.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WTB shares. Panmure Gordon restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,700 price target on shares of Whitbread in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Whitbread from GBX 2,800 to GBX 2,900 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Peel Hunt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,500 target price on shares of Whitbread in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Whitbread in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Whitbread from GBX 3,600 to GBX 3,800 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 3,480.

Whitbread Trading Down 11.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.18, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 3,004.93 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,998.16. The company has a market capitalization of £4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Whitbread (LON:WTB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported GBX 133.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Whitbread had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 8.08%. Analysts anticipate that Whitbread plc will post 227.1851852 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Whitbread

In other news, insider Christine Mary Hodgson purchased 10,000 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 2,880 per share, for a total transaction of £288,000. Also, insider Richard Gillingwater bought 500 shares of Whitbread stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 2,974 per share, with a total value of £14,870. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Whitbread Company Profile

Whitbread is the owner of Premier Inn, the UK’s biggest
hotel brand, with 86,000 rooms in over 850 hotels
and a growing presence in Germany with 10,500 rooms in
59 hotels, offering quality accommodation at affordable
prices in great locations.

People are at the heart of our business. We employ over
38,000 team members in over 900 Premier Inn hotels
across the UK and Germany.