Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Stock Price

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Citigroup from GBX 1,830 to GBX 1,710 in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 7.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ABF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,095 to GBX 1,940 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Shore Capital downgraded Associated British Foods to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Associated British Foods from GBX 2,100 to GBX 1,925 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 1,650 price target on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of GBX 1,905.

Associated British Foods Price Performance

ABF stock traded down GBX 14.50 during midday trading on Monday, hitting GBX 1,844.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,462,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,662,719. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.88. Associated British Foods has a 12 month low of GBX 1,810.50 and a 12 month high of GBX 2,359. The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,132.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 2,149.09. The firm has a market capitalization of £13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported GBX 174.90 EPS for the quarter. Associated British Foods had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 13.07%. On average, analysts expect that Associated British Foods will post 188.0990415 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider George G. Weston sold 43,660 shares of Associated British Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,103, for a total transaction of £918,169.80. Also, insider Eoin Tonge sold 34,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,103, for a total transaction of £732,222.54. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Associated British Foods Company Profile

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £13.9bn, 128,000 employees and operations in 53 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia.

Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food, and clothing that is great value for money. With the breadth of our business, our brands and global reach, ABF aims to consistently deliver value to its stakeholders.

Our business is split into five segments: Grocery; Sugar; Agriculture; Ingredients; and Retail.