Centrica plc (LON:CNA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Centrica plc (LON:CNA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 171.25 ($2.21).

CNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Centrica from GBX 205 ($2.65) to GBX 190 ($2.46) and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Centrica to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from GBX 145 ($1.88) to GBX 170 ($2.20) in a report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centrica in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Centrica to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from GBX 130 ($1.68) to GBX 155 ($2.00) in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Centrica to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from GBX 165 ($2.13) to GBX 170 ($2.20) in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th.

Centrica Stock Performance

Centrica stock opened at GBX 133.57 ($1.73) on Monday. Centrica has a fifty-two week low of GBX 123.35 ($1.60) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 173.70 ($2.25). The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 137.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 134.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 96.93, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of £7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 189.78, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.10.

Centrica Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of GBX 1.50 ($0.02) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.05%. Centrica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 579.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris O’Shea purchased 30,395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 99 ($1.28) per share, with a total value of £30,091.05 ($38,917.55). In related news, insider Chris O’Shea bought 30,395 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 99 ($1.28) per share, for a total transaction of £30,091.05 ($38,917.55). Also, insider Philippe Boisseau purchased 1,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 139 ($1.80) per share, for a total transaction of £1,616.57 ($2,090.75). In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 2,928,817 shares of company stock valued at $418,942,432. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.