Whitbread (LON:WTB) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Whitbread plc (LON:WTB - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,977.32 ($36.99) and traded as high as GBX 3,019 ($37.50). Whitbread shares last traded at GBX 2,931 ($36.41), with a volume of 286,046 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank lowered their price target on Whitbread from GBX 4,000 ($49.69) to GBX 3,900 ($48.45) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Whitbread in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Whitbread to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 2,713.33 ($33.71).

Whitbread Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 144.72, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 2,997.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 2,977.28. The company has a market cap of £5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,831.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Whitbread Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a GBX 34.60 ($0.43) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Whitbread's dividend payout ratio is currently 6,062.50%.

Whitbread Company Profile

Whitbread is the owner of Premier Inn, the UK's biggest hotel brand, with 86,000 rooms in over 850 hotels and a growing presence in Germany with 10,500 rooms in 59 hotels, offering quality accommodation at affordable prices in great locations. People are at the heart of our business. We employ over 38,000 team members in over 900 Premier Inn hotels across the UK and Germany.