Marston’s (LON:MARS) Shares Down 13.4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Marston’s PLC (LON:MARS) fell 13.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 57.45 and last traded at GBX 59.70. 107,206,734 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1,216% from the average session volume of 8,147,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 68.90.

Trending Headlines about Marston’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Marston’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported a stronger Christmas performance and c.4.0% like?for?like sales growth, supporting recovery in trading momentum. Marston’s reports strong festive trading with 4.0% like-for-like sales growth
• Positive Sentiment: Management says an accelerated roll?out of new pub formats is delivering further trading momentum, which supports medium?term growth prospects. Marston’s ‘accelerated roll-out programme driving further trading momentum’
• Positive Sentiment: New industry?first induction programme for pub partners aims to attract and retain operators — a structural move to improve operator quality and execution. Marston’s introduces industry first induction programme for pub partners
• Neutral Sentiment: Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on the stock, providing an independent positive analyst signal but not enough to prevent heavy selling today. Broker Ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat festive read, markets focused on a mixed/flat quarterly sales picture in the update; several outlets report a sharp intraday sell?off (shares plunged). That disconnect (good seasonal LFL but flat quarterly context) triggered heavy selling. Marston’s shares plunge 16% on flat quarterly sales
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also likely concerned by the balance?sheet and liquidity profile (high debt-to-equity and low current/quick ratios), which amplifies downside risk if trading disappoints. Market headlines note shares fell sharply despite the festive sales beat. Marston’s reports strong festive sales but shares slide

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MARS. Panmure Gordon restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 80 target price on shares of Marston’s in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Peel Hunt reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 75 price target on shares of Marston’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Marston’s from GBX 78 to GBX 85 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Marston’s in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 80.

Marston’s Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 60.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 48.28. The firm has a market cap of £377.55 million, a PE ratio of 5.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 198.96, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Marston’s (LON:MARS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 15th. The company reported GBX 8.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Marston’s had a negative return on equity of 2.72% and a negative net margin of 1.91%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marston’s PLC will post 8.364486 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marston’s news, insider Justin Platt bought 158,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 59 per share, for a total transaction of £93,402.31. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Marston’s

Marston’s PLC operates managed, franchised, tenanted, partnership, and leased pubs in the United Kingdom. It is also involved in the property management; telecommunications; and insurance businesses. The company was formerly known as The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC and changed its name to Marston’s PLC in January 2007. The company was founded in 1834 and is based in Wolverhampton, the United Kingdom.