Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as GBX 4,583 ($59.06) and last traded at GBX 4,587 ($59.11), with a volume of 5005411 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 4,799 ($61.84).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AHT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 6,800 ($87.63) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ashtead Group from GBX 6,600 ($85.05) to GBX 7,300 ($94.07) and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 7,000 ($90.21) price target on shares of Ashtead Group in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashtead Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 6,550 ($84.41).

Ashtead Group Stock Down 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of £24.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 146.30, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm's fifty day moving average price is GBX 5,027.93 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 5,445.93.

Ashtead Group (LON:AHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 77.20 ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter. Ashtead Group had a return on equity of 21.43% and a net margin of 14.08%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ashtead Group plc will post 363.5658915 earnings per share for the current year.

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Ashtead Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 9th. Ashtead Group's dividend payout ratio is 28.47%.

Insider Transactions at Ashtead Group

In related news, insider Brendan Horgan purchased 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 ($68.56) per share, with a total value of £212,800 ($274,226.80). 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.