Diploma (LON:DPLM) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 4,802 ($60.67) and last traded at GBX 4,802 ($60.67), with a volume of 603928 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 4,762 ($60.16).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 5,100 ($64.43) price target on shares of Diploma in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Diploma from GBX 4,370 ($55.21) to GBX 4,420 ($55.84) and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Shore Capital downgraded shares of Diploma to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 4,567.50 ($57.71).

Diploma Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is GBX 4,411.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 4,392.07. The firm has a market capitalization of £6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.17, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Diploma (LON:DPLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported GBX 96.50 ($1.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Diploma had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 13.18%. Equities analysts expect that Diploma PLC will post 163.7995512 earnings per share for the current year.

Diploma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were issued a dividend of GBX 42 ($0.53) per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 16th. This is an increase from Diploma's previous dividend of $17.30. This represents a dividend yield of 0.93%. Diploma's dividend payout ratio is 65.52%.

Insider Activity at Diploma

In related news, insider Jennifer Ward acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 4,250 ($53.70) per share, for a total transaction of £42,500 ($53,695.51). Also, insider Chris Davies purchased 3,917 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 4,280 ($54.07) per share, for a total transaction of £167,647.60 ($211,809.98). 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Diploma Company Profile

Diploma PLC, together with its subsidiaries, supplies specialized technical products and services in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through three business sectors: Life Sciences, Seals, and Controls. The Life Sciences sector supplies technology-enabled products used in surgical procedures in operating theatres and endoscopy; testing equipment and services for clinical laboratories; and bio-pharma, food safety and testing, and other research-oriented products.