Several brokers cut their price targets on Associated British Foods (LON: ABF) this week after the Primark owner’s trading update, with the shares sliding to their lowest level since early June.
Deutsche Bank lowered its target to 1,790 pence from 1,850 pence and kept a hold rating, noting the company “delivered its third year in a row of a negative earnings surprise with its initial year ahead guidance.”
The analyst said Sugar was “again the main culprit” but Grocery and Ingredients had also contributed this year.
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Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan trimmed its target to 1,645 pence from 1,700 pence, UBS to 2,040 pence from 2,100 pence and Barclays to 1,950 pence from 1,970 pence, all keeping neutral or equal-weight ratings.
The moves followed Thursday’s update, in which ABF guided to an adjusted operating loss in Sugar for 2027 of between £70 million and £170 million and flagged a one-off hit to Grocery from consolidating recently acquired Hovis.
Group adjusted operating profit for 2026 is expected to be broadly in line, with earnings per share ahead of expectations.
Chief Executive George Weston struck a more upbeat tone, saying, “The Group delivered resilient trading in the quarter,” and highlighting plans for Primark to launch home delivery in Great Britain. Primark full-year sales are expected to grow around 2%, with like-for-like sales down about 2.6%.
ABF shares fell 7.9% on Thursday and closed 0.9% lower on Friday at 1,843 pence, their weakest since June.
