Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Aecon Group Inc. (TSE:ARE) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Raymond James raised their price target on the stock from C$16.00 to C$24.00. Raymond James currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Aecon Group traded as high as C$23.24 and last traded at C$23.14, with a volume of 85710 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$23.06.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. National Bankshares upgraded Aecon Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$17.00 to C$20.50 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Aecon Group from C$25.00 to C$28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Desjardins dropped their price target on Aecon Group from C$20.00 to C$18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stifel Canada raised shares of Aecon Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, ATB Capital lifted their price objective on Aecon Group from C$21.00 to C$29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aecon Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$22.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Timothy John Murphy bought 4,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$17.66 per share, for a total transaction of C$74,969.84. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Aecon Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.72 billion, a PE ratio of -93.93, a P/E/G ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.86, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is C$20.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$17.79.

Aecon Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Aecon Group’s payout ratio is -281.48%.

About Aecon Group

Aecon Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provide construction and infrastructure development services to private and public sector clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Construction and Concessions. The Construction segment focuses on civil infrastructure, urban transportation solutions, nuclear power infrastructure, utility infrastructure, and conventional industrial infrastructure market sectors.