J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

by · The Markets Daily

J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY – Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 356.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Shore Capital Group reiterated a “house stock” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of J Sainsbury from GBX 330 to GBX 346 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of J Sainsbury to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from GBX 390 to GBX 365 in a report on Tuesday, October 27th.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on J Sainsbury

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Katie Bickerstaffe acquired 5,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 347 per share, for a total transaction of £19,890.04. Also, insider Simon Roberts sold 560,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 350, for a total value of £1,960,000. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J Sainsbury Price Performance

Shares of LON:SBRY opened at GBX 350.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 115.36. The firm has a market cap of £7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.00. J Sainsbury has a 12 month low of GBX 293.70 and a 12 month high of GBX 380.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 338.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 333.97.

J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The grocer reported GBX 9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. J Sainsbury had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 6.39%. As a group, research analysts forecast that J Sainsbury will post 25.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J Sainsbury declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to buy back £100 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the grocer to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

J Sainsbury Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

J Sainsbury plc is one of the UK’s leading food, general merchandise and clothing retailers.

Offering delicious, great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since we opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority. Our purpose is that driven by our passion for food, together we serve and help every customer.

Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Habitat, Tu, Nectar and Sainsbury’s Bank.

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