Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 2,614 and last traded at GBX 2,598, with a volume of 1894924 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,576.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on BNZL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a GBX 2,200 target price on shares of Bunzl in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 1,900 target price on shares of Bunzl in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 2,350 target price on shares of Bunzl in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of GBX 2,338.

Bunzl Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of £8.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is GBX 2,371.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 2,218.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard Howes purchased 8,267 shares of Bunzl stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 2,299 per share, for a total transaction of £190,058.33. Also, insider Frank van Zanten sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,394, for a total transaction of £359,100. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Bunzl

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. It also provides food packaging, disposable tableware, guest amenities, catering equipment, agricultural supplies, cleaning and hygiene products, and safety items to hotels, restaurants, contract caterers, food processors, commercial growers, and the leisure sector; and gloves, boots, hard hats, ear and eye protection, and other workwear, as well as cleaning and hygiene supplies, and asset protection products to industrial and construction, and ecommerce sectors.