Insider Buying: Centrica plc (LON:CNA) Insider Purchases £144,100 in Stock

Centrica plc (LON:CNA) insider Kevin O’Byrne purchased 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 131 ($1.69) per share, for a total transaction of £144,100 ($186,368.34).

Centrica Price Performance

CNA opened at GBX 130.95 ($1.69) on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 96.93, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 137.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 134.66. The firm has a market cap of £6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 189.78, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.10. Centrica plc has a 1 year low of GBX 123.35 ($1.60) and a 1 year high of GBX 173.70 ($2.25).

Centrica Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is 579.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CNA shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Centrica from GBX 205 ($2.65) to GBX 190 ($2.46) and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Centrica to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from GBX 130 ($1.68) to GBX 155 ($2.00) in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Centrica to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from GBX 145 ($1.88) to GBX 170 ($2.20) in a research report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Centrica in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Centrica to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from GBX 165 ($2.13) to GBX 170 ($2.20) in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 171.25 ($2.21).

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.