Grainger (LON:GRI) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Grainger plc (LON:GRI) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as GBX 205.50 ($2.60) and last traded at GBX 209.50 ($2.65), with a volume of 943733 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 209.50 ($2.65).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 336 ($4.25) price target on shares of Grainger in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 299 ($3.78) price objective on shares of Grainger in a research note on Friday, November 29th.

Grainger Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of £1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,403.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 216.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 229.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 84.49.

Grainger (LON:GRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported GBX 9.30 ($0.12) EPS for the quarter. Grainger had a negative net margin of 0.40% and a negative return on equity of 0.06%. Equities research analysts forecast that Grainger plc will post 10.4590732 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 16th were given a dividend of GBX 5.01 ($0.06) per share. This represents a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 16th. This is a positive change from Grainger’s previous dividend of $2.54. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -4,666.67%.

Insider Activity at Grainger

In other news, insider Robert Hudson sold 48,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 220 ($2.78), for a total value of £107,012.40 ($135,202.02). Also, insider Helen Gordon sold 29,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 215 ($2.72), for a total transaction of £64,482.80 ($81,469.11). 1.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Grainger

Founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1912, Grainger plc, a FTSE 250 business, is the UK’s largest listed residential landlord and leader in the fast-growing build-to-rent sector, providing c.11,100 rental homes to over 20,000 customers. With a pipeline of secured build-to-rent development projects totalling c.5,000 homes and £1.5bn, Grainger is creating thousands more rental homes by investing in cities across the UK.