Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 4,933.13 ($62.40).

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AHT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Ashtead Group from GBX 6,800 ($86.01) to GBX 6,500 ($82.22) and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 6,150 ($77.79) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a GBX 6,600 ($83.48) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Ashtead Group from GBX 5,300 ($67.04) to GBX 5,100 ($64.51) and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th.

Ashtead Group Price Performance

AHT opened at GBX 5,132 ($64.91) on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 162.35, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.36. Ashtead Group has a 52-week low of GBX 4,437 ($56.12) and a 52-week high of GBX 6,180 ($78.17). The stock has a market capitalization of £22.40 billion, a PE ratio of 1,763.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 5,648.92 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 5,452.70.

Ashtead Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from Ashtead Group’s previous dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. Ashtead Group’s payout ratio is 2,749.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Renata Ribeiro bought 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 5,273 ($66.70) per share, with a total value of £8,436.80 ($10,671.39). Corporate insiders own 0.67% 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.