Centrica (LON:CNA) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Centrica plc (LON:CNA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as GBX 202.20 and last traded at GBX 196.07, with a volume of 7888820 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 199.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Centrica from GBX 185 to GBX 200 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Centrica from GBX 200 to GBX 215 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 198.80.

Centrica Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 98.77, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of £8.70 billion, a PE ratio of -41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 184.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 173.93.

Centrica (LON:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The integrated energy company reported GBX 11.20 EPS for the quarter. Centrica had a return on equity of 1.68% and a net margin of 0.37%.

Insider Activity at Centrica

In other news, insider Philippe Boisseau purchased 1,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 184 per share, with a total value of £1,878.64. Also, insider Sue Whalley acquired 513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 190 per share, for a total transaction of £974.70. In the last three months, insiders bought 11,806 shares of company stock valued at $2,190,933. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

About Centrica

Centrica is energising a greener, fairer future for our colleagues, customers and communities. Our integrated business operates across the energy value chain, with over ten million Retail customers, leading brands such as British Gas and Bord Gáis Energy, and the UK’s largest energy services workforce. Our Infrastructure businesses bring gas and electricity to the market every day and provide more than half of the UK’s gas storage capacity, while our Optimisation business delivers world-class procurement and route-to-market capabilities to the Group and third parties, supporting energy security and our customers’ decarbonisation journeys.