Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Trading Down 24.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) fell 24.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 2,218 ($29.36) and last traded at GBX 2,327.73 ($30.81). 5,287,830 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 115% from the average session volume of 2,465,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,078 ($40.74).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BNZL. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($37.06) price objective on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 3,375 ($44.67).

Bunzl Stock Down 24.4 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 3,114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 3,338.11. The company has a market capitalization of £7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bunzl plc will post 213.3413462 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of GBX 53.80 ($0.71) per share. This is an increase from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Bunzl’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frank van Zanten purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 3,037 ($40.20) per share, with a total value of £121,480 ($160,794.18). 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.