Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Trading Down 26.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) dropped 26.1% on Wednesday . The company 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 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 issued reports on BNZL. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($37.06) target price on shares of Bunzl in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bunzl currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 3,375 ($44.67).

Bunzl Stock Performance

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

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

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 ($0.71) 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Bunzl’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bunzl

In other news, insider Frank van Zanten bought 4,000 shares of Bunzl stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 3,037 ($40.19) per share, for a total transaction of £121,480 ($160,772.90). Company 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.