Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,937 ($24.19).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Associated British Foods Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.71. The stock has a market cap 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is GBX 2,096.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 2,284.22.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported GBX 196.90 ($2.46) earnings per share for the quarter. Associated British Foods had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 10.69%. Analysts anticipate that Associated British Foods plc will post 188.0990415 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated British Foods Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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