Centrica plc (LON:CNA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Centrica plc (LON:CNA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 171.25 ($2.26).

Several brokerages have commented on CNA. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Centrica to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from GBX 145 ($1.92) to GBX 170 ($2.25) in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Centrica to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from GBX 130 ($1.72) to GBX 155 ($2.05) in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centrica in a report on Friday, July 5th.

Insider Transactions at Centrica

In other Centrica news, insider Philippe Boisseau bought 1,163 shares of Centrica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 139 ($1.84) per share, for a total transaction of £1,616.57 ($2,135.50). In other Centrica news, insider Philippe Boisseau bought 1,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 139 ($1.84) per share, with a total value of £1,616.57 ($2,135.50). Also, insider Amber Rudd bought 1,561 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 127 ($1.68) per share, for a total transaction of £1,982.47 ($2,618.85). Insiders have bought a total of 112,951 shares of company stock valued at $14,800,018 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Centrica Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CNA stock opened at GBX 118 ($1.56) on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.65, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of £6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 532.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is GBX 130.25 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 131.90. Centrica has a 1 year low of GBX 116.15 ($1.53) and a 1 year high of GBX 173.70 ($2.29).

Centrica Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a GBX 1.50 ($0.02) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Centrica’s payout ratio is 1,818.18%.

About Centrica

Centrica plc operates as an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, North America, and internationally. The company operates through British Gas Services & Solutions, British Gas Energy, Centrica Business Solutions, Bord Gáis Energy, Centrica Energy, and Upstream segments.