Marston’s share price has made a slow recovery in the past few weeks as the company’s business booms. It has also rallied because of the ongoing World Cup in Qatar. The stock rose to a high of 40.58p on Monday, which was the highest level since November 15. It has risen by more than 21% from the lowest level this year, giving it a market cap of over £252 million.
Pub business rebounds
Marston’s is one of the biggest pub operators in the UK with over 12,000 workers and 1,500 pubs and bars in the country. It competes with the likes of JD Weatherspoon and Mitchells & Butlers. The company signed a major £780 million joint venture deal with Carlsberg. Marston’s holds about 40% of the combined deal.
Like other companies in the industry, Marston’s has resumed its growth path after going through significant challenges during the pandemic. As a non-essential business, the company was forced to close most of its locations.
This year, however, the company has resumed its growth path as people move back to pubs. In its most recent trading statement, the firm said that its like-for-like sales for the 52 weeks to 1st October dropped by 1% because of restrictions that happened in December and January.
Marston’s share price rose even after the company postponed the release of its results for the year that ended on October 2. It attributed that to a delay of auditing of its Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company. It expects to release these results next week.
In a statement, the management said that its business was doing well. Like-for-like sales are up by 6.8% compared to the same period in 2021 and by 5% in same period in 2019. Its October earnings were in line with expectations while Christmas bookings are gaining momentum. The firm has also seen a major pump because of the ongoing World Cup tournament. Further, Marston’s pub assets valuation jumped to £2.1 billion from £2.0 billion in the same period in 2021.
Marston’s share price forecast
The chart below shows that the Marston’s stock price has been in a strong bearish trend in the past few months. This decline happened even as the company’s business did well as people returned to pubs and bars. The drop saw the shares crash to a low of 33.50p in October.
Marston’s share price has staged a slow recovery in the past few days. It has moved slightly above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while oscillators are supportive. The stock will likely continue rising as buyers target the key resistance level at 50p. A move below the support at 35p will invalidate the bullish view.
