Analysts Set Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT) PT at GBX 6,550

Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 6,550 ($80.75).

Several analysts recently weighed in on AHT shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 6,800 ($83.84) price target on shares of Ashtead Group in a report on Monday, December 16th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 7,000 ($86.30) price target on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ashtead Group from GBX 6,600 ($81.37) to GBX 7,300 ($90.00) and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Activity at Ashtead Group

In other news, insider Brendan Horgan acquired 4,000 shares of Ashtead Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 5,320 ($65.59) per share, for a total transaction of £212,800 ($262,359.76). 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ashtead Group Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of AHT stock opened at GBX 5,466 ($67.39) on Friday. The company has a market cap of £23.87 billion, a PE ratio of 2,062.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.75, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 5,555.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 5,501.91. Ashtead Group has a 1 year low of GBX 4,807 ($59.27) and a 1 year high of GBX 6,448 ($79.50).

Ashtead Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Ashtead Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3,018.87%.

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.