Brokerages Set Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) Price Target at GBX 3,375

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One 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. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,375 ($43.54).

BNZL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($36.12) target price on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Monday, March 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 3,037 ($39.18) per share, with a total value of £121,480 ($156,707.95). 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bunzl Stock Performance

Shares of BNZL stock opened at GBX 3,010 ($38.83) on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is GBX 3,197.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 3,377. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.15. Bunzl has a 1 year low of GBX 2,884 ($37.20) and a 1 year high of GBX 3,732 ($48.14). The firm has a market cap of £9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a GBX 53.80 ($0.69) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. Bunzl’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

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.