Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Posts Earnings Results

Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported GBX 77.20 ($1.00) earnings per share 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 Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of LON:AHT traded up GBX 11 ($0.14) on Thursday, hitting GBX 4,537 ($58.48). 7,781,292 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,336,570. The company has a market cap of £24.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 146.30. Ashtead Group has a 52 week low of GBX 4,384.89 ($56.52) and a 52 week high of GBX 6,448 ($83.11). The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 5,043.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 5,455.24.

Ashtead Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given 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 currently 28.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Ashtead Group Company Profile

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.