Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) Receives GBX 3,375 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment 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. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 3,375 ($43.60).

Several brokerages recently commented on BNZL. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($36.18) price target on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Bunzl from GBX 3,980 ($51.42) to GBX 4,150 ($53.62) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup upgraded Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Monday.

Bunzl Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Bunzl stock opened at GBX 2,966 ($38.32) on Friday. Bunzl has a 12-month low of GBX 2,884 ($37.26) and a 12-month high of GBX 3,732 ($48.22). The firm has a market capitalization of £9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is GBX 3,231.54 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 3,389.93.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. Equities analysts anticipate that Bunzl will post 213.3413462 earnings per share for the current year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of GBX 53.80 ($0.70) per share. This is a boost from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Bunzl’s payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insider Transactions at Bunzl

In other news, insider Frank van Zanten acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 3,037 ($39.24) per share, for a total transaction of £121,480 ($156,950.90). 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.