J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) was downgraded by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, London Stock Exchange reports. They presently have a GBX 365 price target on the grocer’s stock, down from their previous price target of GBX 390. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of J Sainsbury from GBX 330 to GBX 346 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a GBX 375 price objective on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a GBX 310 price objective on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Shore Capital Group reissued a “house stock” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 356.

J Sainsbury Stock Performance

Shares of LON:SBRY traded down GBX 7 on Tuesday, reaching GBX 346.20. 1,734,535,375 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,669,396. The company has a market capitalization of £7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.00. J Sainsbury has a twelve month low of GBX 293.70 and a twelve month high of GBX 380.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 115.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of GBX 337.52 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 333.35.

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The grocer reported GBX 9.50 earnings per share for the quarter. J Sainsbury had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.15%. On average, research analysts predict that J Sainsbury will post 25.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J Sainsbury declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase £100 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the grocer to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at J Sainsbury

In other news, insider Katie Bickerstaffe acquired 5,732 shares of J Sainsbury stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 347 per share, for a total transaction of £19,890.04. Also, insider Simon Roberts sold 560,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 350, for a total value of £1,960,000. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About J Sainsbury

J Sainsbury plc is one of the UK’s leading food, general merchandise and clothing retailers.

Offering delicious, great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since we opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority. Our purpose is that driven by our passion for food, together we serve and help every customer.

Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Habitat, Tu, Nectar and Sainsbury’s Bank.