Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 6,550 ($82.40).

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AHT shares. Berenberg Bank restated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 7,000 ($88.06) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 6,800 ($85.55) price objective on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ashtead Group from GBX 6,600 ($83.03) to GBX 7,300 ($91.84) and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Activity

In other Ashtead Group news, insider Brendan Horgan bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 5,320 ($66.93) per share, for a total transaction of £212,800 ($267,706.63). Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Ashtead Group Stock Performance

AHT stock traded up GBX 26 ($0.33) during midday trading on Thursday, reaching GBX 5,062 ($63.68). The stock had a trading volume of 589,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,221,180. The stock has a market cap of £27.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 5,158.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 5,494.75. Ashtead Group has a 52-week low of GBX 4,807 ($60.47) and a 52-week high of GBX 6,448 ($81.12).

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 given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 9th. Ashtead Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.47%.

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.