Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

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

LON:AHT opened at GBX 4,485 ($57.81) on Thursday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is GBX 5,043.83 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 5,455.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 146.30, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of £24.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

Ashtead Group Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashtead Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.