Centrica plc (LON:CNA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Centrica plc (LON:CNA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 171.25 ($2.24).

Several research firms have weighed in on CNA. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Centrica to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from GBX 145 ($1.90) to GBX 170 ($2.22) in a research report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Centrica in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Centrica to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from GBX 130 ($1.70) to GBX 155 ($2.03) in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Centrica from GBX 205 ($2.68) to GBX 190 ($2.48) and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th.

Centrica Price Performance

Shares of LON CNA opened at GBX 121.13 ($1.58) on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of £6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 550.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is GBX 131.69 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 132.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.65. Centrica has a 1-year low of GBX 120.65 ($1.58) and a 1-year high of GBX 173.70 ($2.27).

Centrica Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a GBX 1.50 ($0.02) dividend. This represents a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Centrica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,818.18%.

Insider Transactions at Centrica

In other news, insider Amber Rudd acquired 1,561 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 127 ($1.66) per share, with a total value of £1,982.47 ($2,592.48). In other Centrica news, insider Amber Rudd acquired 1,561 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 127 ($1.66) per share, for a total transaction of £1,982.47 ($2,592.48). Also, insider Kevin O’Byrne bought 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 131 ($1.71) per share, for a total transaction of £144,100 ($188,439.91). In the last 90 days, insiders bought 112,951 shares of company stock valued at $14,800,018. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Centrica Company Profile

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.