Hays (LON:HAS) Stock Price Down 1.2% - Here's What Happened

Hays plc (LON:HAS - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as GBX 79.95 ($1.04) and last traded at GBX 80 ($1.04). 464,194 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 3,786,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 81 ($1.05).

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a GBX 125 ($1.62) price objective on shares of Hays in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 115 ($1.49) price objective on shares of Hays in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Hays Stock Down 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.81, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of £1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,905.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of GBX 90.36 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 94.61.

Hays Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of GBX 2.05 ($0.03) per share. This represents a yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Hays's previous dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hays

In other Hays news, insider James Hilton sold 53,038 shares of Hays stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 88 ($1.14), for a total transaction of £46,673.44 ($60,599.12). In related news, insider James Hilton sold 53,038 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 88 ($1.14), for a total transaction of £46,673.44 ($60,599.12). Also, insider Joe Hurd purchased 2,208 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 90 ($1.17) per share, for a total transaction of £1,987.20 ($2,580.11). Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

About Hays

Hays plc engages in the provision of recruitment services in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company provides qualified, professional, and skilled recruitment in permanent, temporary, and contractor formats to public and private sectors. It offers its recruitment services in the specialisms, such as accountancy and finance, banking and capital markets, construction and property, contact centers, education, energy, oil and gas, engineering and manufacturing, executive, financial services, health and social care, human resources, legal, life sciences, office support, procurement, resources and mining, retail, sales and marketing, sustainability, technology, and telecoms.

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