Justin Platt Purchases 158,309 Shares of Marston’s (LON:MARS) Stock

Marston’s PLC (LON:MARS) insider Justin Platt bought 158,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 59 per share, with a total value of £93,402.31.

Marston’s Price Performance

Shares of LON MARS opened at GBX 58.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of £370.69 million, a P/E ratio of 5.26, a P/E/G ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 1.68. Marston’s PLC has a twelve month low of GBX 31.10 and a twelve month high of GBX 62.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 52.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 45.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 198.96.

Marston’s (LON:MARS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 15th. The company reported GBX 8.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Marston’s had a negative return on equity of 2.72% and a negative net margin of 1.91%. On average, research analysts forecast that Marston’s PLC will post 8.364486 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Panmure Gordon reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 80 price target on shares of Marston’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Marston’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Peel Hunt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 75 price target on shares of Marston’s in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marston’s from GBX 78 to GBX 85 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 80.

Marston’s Company Profile

Marston’s PLC operates managed, franchised, tenanted, partnership, and leased pubs in the United Kingdom. It is also involved in the property management; telecommunications; and insurance businesses. The company was formerly known as The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC and changed its name to Marston’s PLC in January 2007. The company was founded in 1834 and is based in Wolverhampton, the United Kingdom.