Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Stock Price Down 23.1% – Here’s What Happened

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) dropped 23.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 2,252 ($29.88) and last traded at GBX 2,366 ($31.39). Approximately 121,630,773 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 2,928% from the average daily volume of 4,016,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,078 ($40.84).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a report on Monday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 3,375 ($44.78).

Bunzl Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 3,071.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 3,319.24. The stock has a market capitalization of £7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.58) earnings per share for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bunzl plc will post 213.3413462 EPS for the current year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The company 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%. 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 payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Insider Activity at Bunzl

In other Bunzl news, insider Frank van Zanten bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 3,037 ($40.29) per share, for a total transaction of £121,480 ($161,178.19). Also, insider Richard Howes purchased 8,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,338 ($31.02) per share, for a total transaction of £198,239.02 ($263,021.12). 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.