Greggs (LON:GRG) Trading 9.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Greggs plc (LON:GRG)’s stock price traded up 9.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 2,237.88 ($29.97) and last traded at GBX 2,182 ($29.22). 1,496,559 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 0% from the average session volume of 1,501,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,999 ($26.77).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank reduced their price target on Greggs from GBX 3,420 ($45.80) to GBX 3,250 ($43.52) and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Greggs in a report on Tuesday.

Greggs Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a market cap of £2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 66.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 1,827.02 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 2,210.36.

Greggs (LON:GRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 150.70 ($2.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Greggs had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 26.79%. Sell-side analysts predict that Greggs plc will post 142.3763386 earnings per share for the current year.

Greggs Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a GBX 100 ($1.34) dividend. This is a positive change from Greggs’s previous dividend of $50.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.66%. Greggs’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Roisin Currie bought 721 shares of Greggs stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 1,796 ($24.05) per share, with a total value of £12,949.16 ($17,341.85). 5.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Greggs

Greggs is a leading UK food-on-the-go retailer with more than 2,600 shops nationwide and approximately 33,000 employees across the business.

As a food-on-the-go retailer, Greggs specialises in daily fresh shop-made sandwiches, and savouries baked fresh in the shop ovens throughout the day. These are further complemented by popular products and ranges including freshly ground coffee, breakfast, confectionery and evening menu items.