Berenberg Bank Upgrades Centrica (LON:CNA) to Buy

Centrica (LON:CNA) was upgraded by Berenberg Bank to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Digital Look reports. The firm currently has a GBX 155 ($1.97) price target on the integrated energy company’s stock, up from their prior price target of GBX 130 ($1.65). Berenberg Bank’s target price points to a potential upside of 12.16% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centrica to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from GBX 165 ($2.09) to GBX 170 ($2.16) in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Centrica from GBX 205 ($2.60) to GBX 190 ($2.41) and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Centrica to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from GBX 145 ($1.84) to GBX 170 ($2.16) in a report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 167 ($2.12).

Centrica Stock Up 1.0 %

LON CNA opened at GBX 138.20 ($1.75) on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 96.93, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 136.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 135.62. Centrica has a 12 month low of GBX 120 ($1.52) and a 12 month high of GBX 173.70 ($2.20). The company has a market capitalization of £7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 200.29, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centrica news, insider Philippe Boisseau bought 1,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 139 ($1.76) per share, with a total value of £1,616.57 ($2,050.70). In other news, insider Chris O’Shea acquired 30,395 shares of Centrica stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 99 ($1.26) per share, for a total transaction of £30,091.05 ($38,172.08). Also, insider Philippe Boisseau acquired 1,163 shares of Centrica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 139 ($1.76) per share, with a total value of £1,616.57 ($2,050.70). Insiders acquired 2,820,254 shares of company stock valued at $404,719,356 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Centrica

Centrica plc operates as an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, North America, and internationally. The company operates through British Gas Services & Solutions, British Gas Energy, Centrica Business Solutions, Bord Gáis Energy, Centrica Energy, and Upstream segments.