J Sainsbury plc·Consumer Defensive

Shares in Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) and J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) opened higher on Wednesday as Rachel Reeves met the chief executives of the UK's biggest supermarkets to assess the risk of food price rises and supply shortages stemming from the Middle East conflict. Tesco shares were up 1.48% and Sainsbury's 1.19% as the chancellor sat down with the two grocers alongside Morrisons to gauge the potential impact on household costs in the coming months.

Investors with an interest in Retail - Supermarkets stocks have likely encountered both J. Sainsbury PLC (JSAIY) and Walmart (WMT).

UBS has raised its price target on J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY), the UK's second-largest supermarket chain, to 372p from 365p and reiterated its 'buy' recommendation, arguing the group is winning the battle for customers against rivals including Asda while remaining attractively valued ahead of full-year results on 23 April. The Swiss bank said Sainsbury's had improved its net promoter score, a measure of customer loyalty, to the point where it now sits marginally ahead of Lidl among major UK grocers, with only Tesco rated higher overall.

Big grocers Tesco and Sainsbury's showed their strength in January, while some listed rivals saw sales growth slow in the new year, as price inflation eased to its lowest in nine months. Grocery price inflation rose 4.0% in January, down from 4.3% in December and 4.7% in October and November, to a level not seen since April last year, as supermarkets ramped up promotioins, according to the latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator.

Citi has pointed to renewed pressure on Asda's funding costs as a potential tailwind for listed UK grocers Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) and J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY), arguing the private business may have less headroom to keep escalating price investment. The broker noted a recent decline in Asda's bond prices, with its largest issue now trading at around a 10.5% yield to maturity, up from 9.6% three months ago and 9.4% a year ago.

J. Sainsbury PLC (OTCMKTS:JSAIY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 59,928 shares, an increase of 60.4% from the December 15th total of 37,355 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based
J Sainsbury plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the food, general merchandise and clothing retailing, and financial services activities in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It operates through three segments: Retail Food, Retail General Merchandise and Clothing, and Financial Services. The company operates various store formats, including convenience stores and supermarkets. It is also involved in the online grocery and general merchandise operations. As of March 5, 2022, the company operated 598 supermarkets, 809 convenience stores, 728 Argos stores, and 335 collection points, as well as 3 Habitat stores. In addition, it offers financial services, such as credit cards, scorecards, and personal loans; and home, car, pet, travel, and life insurance products. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Consumer Defensive
Grocery Stores
148,498
2008-01-30
1.09