Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,866 ($36.62) and last traded at GBX 2,918 ($37.29), with a volume of 1340089 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,010 ($38.46).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNZL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upgraded Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($35.78) target price on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a report on Monday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bunzl currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 3,375 ($43.13).

Bunzl Stock Down 2.0 %

The company has a market cap of £9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 3,168.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 3,361.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Bunzl had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 16.82%. As a group, analysts predict that Bunzl plc will post 213.3413462 EPS for the current year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of GBX 53.80 ($0.69) per share. This is a boost from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a yield of 1.8%. Bunzl’s payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bunzl

In other Bunzl news, insider Frank van Zanten purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 3,037 ($38.81) per share, with a total value of £121,480 ($155,226.17). 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bunzl Company Profile

Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and personal protection equipment to grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.