Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) released its 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 Up 1.1 %

Shares of AHT stock traded up GBX 49 ($0.63) during trading on Thursday, hitting GBX 4,575 ($58.97). 253,861,109 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,686,131. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 5,043.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 5,455.24. Ashtead Group has a twelve month low of GBX 4,384.89 ($56.52) and a twelve month high of GBX 6,448 ($83.11). The firm has a market capitalization of £24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 146.30, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Ashtead Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is 28.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AHT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 6,800 ($87.65) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a report on Monday, December 16th. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 7,000 ($90.23) price target on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashtead Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 6,550 ($84.43).

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashtead Group

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 purchased at an average cost 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.

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.