Spectris (LON:SXS) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Insider Selling

Spectris plc (LON:SXS) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as GBX 2,366 ($30.62) and last traded at GBX 2,380 ($30.81), with a volume of 22176 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,400 ($31.06).

Specifically, insider Derek Harding sold 22,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,420 ($31.32), for a total value of £546,363.40 ($707,174.99).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SXS. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Spectris in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Berenberg Bank lowered their price target on shares of Spectris from GBX 3,180 ($41.16) to GBX 3,000 ($38.83) and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Spectris currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 3,765 ($48.73).

Spectris Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is GBX 2,775.03 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 2,646.02. The firm has a market capitalization of £2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Spectris (LON:SXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported GBX 148.10 ($1.92) earnings per share for the quarter. Spectris had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 20.13%. On average, research analysts expect that Spectris plc will post 194.7972456 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectris Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of GBX 56.60 ($0.73) per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Spectris’s previous dividend of $26.60. This represents a yield of 2.25%. Spectris’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.00%.

About Spectris

The experts in providing insight through precision measurement.

Our purpose is to deliver value beyond measure – going beyond just the measurement.

Precision is at the heart of what we do. Spectris provides global customers with specialist insight through our high-tech instruments and test equipment, augmented by the power of our software.

Through a combination of our hardware, analytical and simulation software, we provide our customers with superior data and invaluable insights that enable them to work faster, smarter and more efficiently.

This equips them with the ability to reduce time to market, improve processes, quality and yield.