J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 350.20 and last traded at GBX 349.01, with a volume of 732033625 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 347.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBRY has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of J Sainsbury from GBX 366 to GBX 360 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of J Sainsbury from GBX 350 to GBX 345 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on J Sainsbury from GBX 330 to GBX 310 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Shore Capital Group reiterated a “house stock” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 330.

J Sainsbury Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 323.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 321.31. The company has a market cap of £7.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at J Sainsbury

In related news, insider Bl á thnaid Bergin sold 225,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 320, for a total transaction of £720,000. Also, insider Katie Bickerstaffe bought 5,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 309 per share, with a total value of £17,100.06. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

J Sainsbury Company Profile

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.