Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported GBX 77.20 ($1.00) EPS for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. Ashtead Group had a return on equity of 21.43% and a net margin of 14.08%.

Ashtead Group Price Performance

Shares of AHT traded up GBX 31.22 ($0.40) during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting GBX 4,557.22 ($58.74). 7,872,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,338,554. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of GBX 5,043.83 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 5,455.24. Ashtead Group has a one year low of GBX 4,384.89 ($56.52) and a one year high of GBX 6,448 ($83.11). The stock has a market capitalization of £24.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

Ashtead Group Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brendan Horgan bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 5,320 ($68.57) per share, for a total transaction of £212,800 ($274,297.50). Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 7,000 ($90.23) price target on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 6,800 ($87.65) price objective on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ashtead Group from GBX 6,600 ($85.07) to GBX 7,300 ($94.10) and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 6,550 ($84.43).

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.