Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,375 ($43.54).

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($36.12) price target on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Monday, March 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Frank van Zanten purchased 4,000 shares of the 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, for a total transaction of £121,480 ($156,707.95). 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bunzl Price Performance

Bunzl stock opened at GBX 3,010 ($38.83) on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of £9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45. Bunzl has a 12-month low of GBX 2,884 ($37.20) and a 12-month high of GBX 3,732 ($48.14). 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’s 50-day moving average is GBX 3,197.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 3,377.

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

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of GBX 53.80 ($0.69) per share. This represents a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Bunzl’s payout ratio is 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.