Grainger (LON:GRI) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Grainger plc (LON:GRI - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as GBX 205.50 ($2.60) and last traded at GBX 209.50 ($2.65), with a volume of 943733 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 209.50 ($2.65).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on GRI shares. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 299 ($3.78) price target on shares of Grainger in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 336 ($4.25) price target on shares of Grainger in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

Grainger Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of £1.55 billion, a PE ratio of -1,403.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 84.49, a current ratio of 4.49 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 216.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 229.89.

Grainger (LON:GRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported GBX 9.30 ($0.12) EPS for the quarter. Grainger had a negative return on equity of 0.06% and a negative net margin of 0.40%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Grainger plc will post 10.4590732 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 16th were issued a GBX 5.01 ($0.06) dividend. This represents a yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Grainger's previous dividend of $2.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is -4,666.67%.

Insider Activity at Grainger

In other Grainger news, insider Helen Gordon sold 29,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 215 ($2.72), for a total value of £64,482.80 ($81,469.11). Also, insider Robert Hudson sold 48,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 220 ($2.78), for a total value of £107,012.40 ($135,202.02). 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Grainger

Founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1912, Grainger plc, a FTSE 250 business, is the UK's largest listed residential landlord and leader in the fast-growing build-to-rent sector, providing c.11,100 rental homes to over 20,000 customers. With a pipeline of secured build-to-rent development projects totalling c.5,000 homes and £1.5bn, Grainger is creating thousands more rental homes by investing in cities across the UK.