Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Stock Price Down 26.1% – Here’s What Happened

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL)’s stock price dropped 26.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 2,252 ($29.80) and last traded at GBX 2,276 ($30.12). Approximately 120,840,211 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2,917% from the average daily volume of 4,005,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,078 ($40.74).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BNZL. Citigroup raised shares of Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 2,800 ($37.06) price objective on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 3,375 ($44.67).

Bunzl Trading Down 23.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of £7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 3,114.16 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 3,338.11.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.57) earnings per share for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. As a group, analysts forecast that Bunzl plc will post 213.3413462 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a GBX 53.80 ($0.71) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. Bunzl’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bunzl news, insider Frank van Zanten bought 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 ($40.19) per share, with a total value of £121,480 ($160,772.90). Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

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.