Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

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

Ashtead Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AHT stock opened at GBX 4,485 ($57.81) on Thursday. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of £24.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. Ashtead Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 4,384.89 ($56.52) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 6,448 ($83.11). 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 Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brendan Horgan acquired 4,000 shares of the business’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). 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set 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. raised their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashtead Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.