Essentra (LON:ESNT) Shares Pass Below 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Essentra plc (LON:ESNT)’s share price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 94.81 and traded as low as GBX 86.20. Essentra shares last traded at GBX 88.60, with a volume of 317,287 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Essentra to GBX 130 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 160 price target on shares of Essentra in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 100 price target on shares of Essentra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 130 price target on shares of Essentra in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 150.

Essentra Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 86.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 94.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 47.67, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market capitalization of £250.70 million, a PE ratio of 126.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.80.

Essentra (LON:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported GBX 6.10 EPS for the quarter. Essentra had a return on equity of 0.79% and a net margin of 0.70%. Analysts anticipate that Essentra plc will post 524.137931 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Essentra

In other news, insider Kath Durrant acquired 10,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 91 per share, for a total transaction of £9,913.54. Also, insider Rowan Baker acquired 9,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 84 per share, with a total value of £7,960.68. Insiders have purchased a total of 91,194 shares of company stock valued at $8,208,359 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

About Essentra

Essentra plc is a leading global provider of essential components and solutions, focusing on the manufacture and distribution of plastic injection moulded, vinyl dip moulded and metal items.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Essentra’s global network extends to 28 countries worldwide and includes c.3,000 employees, 14 manufacturing facilities, 26 distribution centres and 37 sales & service centres serving c.64,000 customers with a rapid supply of low cost but essential products for a variety of applications in industries such as equipment manufacturing, automotive, fabrication, electronics, medical and renewable energy.