Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as GBX 1,894 ($23.65) and last traded at GBX 1,916 ($23.92), with a volume of 12787260 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,937 ($24.19).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Associated British Foods in a research note on Thursday.

Associated British Foods Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,096.77 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 2,284.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.71, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of £13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,215.81, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported GBX 196.90 ($2.46) EPS for the quarter. Associated British Foods had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 5.92%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Associated British Foods plc will post 188.0990415 EPS for the current year.

Associated British Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a GBX 69.30 ($0.87) dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This is an increase from Associated British Foods’s previous dividend of $20.70. This represents a dividend yield of 3.03%. Associated British Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3,483.87%.

Insider Transactions at Associated British Foods

In other news, insider George G. Weston sold 56,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,161 ($26.98), for a total transaction of £1,224,271.33 ($1,528,619.47). Also, insider Loraine Woodhouse bought 4,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 2,389 ($29.83) per share, with a total value of £99,477.96 ($124,207.72). Corporate insiders own 58.08% of the company’s stock.

About Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £13.9bn, 128,000 employees and operations in 53 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia.

Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food, and clothing that is great value for money.