Marston’s (LON:MARS) Trading Down 9.8% – Here’s What Happened

Marston’s PLC (LON:MARS) shares traded down 9.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 57.45 and last traded at GBX 62.12. 59,718,227 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 957% from the average session volume of 5,647,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 68.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Marston’s Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of GBX 60.86 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 48.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 198.96. The company has a market capitalization of £381.98 million, a P/E ratio of 5.44, a P/E/G ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 1.68.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Justin Platt bought 158,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 59 per share, with a total value of £93,402.31. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

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.