Short Interest in Ashtead Group plc (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) Rises By 1,125.0%

Ashtead Group plc (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,900 shares, an increase of 1,125.0% from the February 28th total of 400 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 83,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ASHTY shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Ashtead Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ashtead Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Ashtead Group Price Performance

Ashtead Group stock opened at $227.42 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $250.52 and its 200-day moving average is $278.59. Ashtead Group has a 12 month low of $222.43 and a 12 month high of $337.95. The company has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.77.

Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.47 by ($0.38). Ashtead Group had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 22.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Ashtead Group will post 15.51 EPS for the current year.

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.