Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as GBX 4,379 ($56.61) and last traded at GBX 4,383.10 ($56.66), with a volume of 7641192 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 4,516 ($58.38).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 6,800 ($87.90) price objective on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ashtead Group from GBX 6,600 ($85.32) to GBX 7,300 ($94.36) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 7,000 ($90.49) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashtead Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 6,550 ($84.67).

Ashtead Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 146.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 5,019.41 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 5,441.36. The stock has a market capitalization of £23.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 77.20 ($1.00) EPS for the quarter. Ashtead Group had a return on equity of 21.43% and a net margin of 14.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ashtead Group plc will post 363.5658915 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashtead Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.45%. Ashtead Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashtead Group

In other news, insider Brendan Horgan acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 5,320 ($68.77) per share, for a total transaction of £212,800 ($275,077.56). Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

About Ashtead Group

Ashtead Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It provides pumps, power generation, heating, cooling, scaffolding, traffic management, temporary flooring, trench shoring, and lifting services.