Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,244.70 ($42.24) and traded as high as GBX 3,488.54 ($45.41). Bunzl shares last traded at GBX 3,476 ($45.25), with a volume of 378,309 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BNZL shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Bunzl to a "sector perform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from GBX 2,700 ($35.15) to GBX 3,350 ($43.61) in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Bunzl from GBX 2,600 ($33.85) to GBX 2,800 ($36.45) and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Shore Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bunzl has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 3,182.50 ($41.43).

Bunzl Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock's 50-day moving average is GBX 3,528.20 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 3,244.70. 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 £11.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 2,397.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Bunzl Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of GBX 20.10 ($0.26) per share. This represents a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Bunzl's payout ratio is currently 4,827.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jacky Simmonds bought 1,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 3,462 ($45.07) per share, with a total value of £50,025.90 ($65,120.93). 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by 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.