SSP Group (LON:SSPG) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as GBX 191.30 and last traded at GBX 191.20, with a volume of 4362479 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 185.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SSPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on SSP Group from GBX 190 to GBX 170 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 310 price target (down from GBX 330) on shares of SSP Group in a report on Monday, October 13th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 190 price target on shares of SSP Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Peel Hunt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 275 price objective on shares of SSP Group in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of SSP Group from GBX 285 to GBX 262 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SSP Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 229.50.

SSP Group Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of GBX 157.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 163.03. The stock has a market capitalization of £1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -63.83, a P/E/G ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 852.29, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

SSP Group (LON:SSPG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported GBX 11 EPS for the quarter. SSP Group had a net margin of 0.24% and a return on equity of 3.64%. On average, analysts predict that SSP Group plc will post 13.1004016 EPS for the current year.

SSP Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 9th that allows the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SSP Group

In other news, insider Patrick Coveney sold 136,379 shares of SSP Group stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 174, for a total value of £237,299.46. Also, insider Apurvi Sheth purchased 4,000 shares of SSP Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 165 per share, with a total value of £6,600. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 227,675 shares of company stock worth $38,884,478. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SSP Group Company Profile

SSP is a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, with c.37,000 colleagues in over 600 locations across 36 countries. We operate sit-down and quick service restaurants, cafes, lounges and food-led convenience stores, principally in airports and train stations, with a portfolio of more than 550 international, national and local brands.