Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned 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 ($43.45).

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BNZL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Bunzl from GBX 3,980 ($51.24) to GBX 4,150 ($53.43) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup upgraded Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($36.05) price target on shares of Bunzl in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bunzl

In other Bunzl news, insider Frank van Zanten bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 3,037 ($39.10) per share, for a total transaction of £121,480 ($156,405.30). Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Bunzl Trading Down 2.1 %

LON BNZL opened at GBX 3,010 ($38.75) on Tuesday. Bunzl has a 1-year low of GBX 2,896 ($37.29) and a 1-year high of GBX 3,732 ($48.05). The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 3,339.59 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,422.35. The firm has a market cap of £9.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.50) earnings per share for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bunzl will post 213.3413462 EPS for the current year.

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.