Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 1,584.88 and last traded at GBX 1,894, with a volume of 942494 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,881.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Shore Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 1,830 to GBX 1,710 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,100 to GBX 1,925 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 1,650 target price on shares of Associated British Foods in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,095 to GBX 1,940 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated British Foods has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of GBX 1,905.

Associated British Foods Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of £13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.88, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 2,054.29 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 2,133.53.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported GBX 174.90 earnings per share for the quarter. Associated British Foods had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 7.25%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Associated British Foods plc will post 188.0990415 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Associated British Foods

In related news, insider Eoin Tonge sold 34,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,103, for a total value of £732,222.54. Also, insider George G. Weston sold 43,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,103, for a total value of £918,169.80. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £13.9bn, 128,000 employees and operations in 53 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia.

Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food, and clothing that is great value for money. With the breadth of our business, our brands and global reach, ABF aims to consistently deliver value to its stakeholders.

Our business is split into five segments: Grocery; Sugar; Agriculture; Ingredients; and Retail.