Pearson (PSON) Share Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Pearson plc offers educational courseware, assessments, and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, other European countries, and internationally. The company operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Workforce Skills, and Higher Education. The Assessment & Qualifications segment offers Pearson VUE, US student assessment, clinical assessment, UK GCSE, and A levels and international academic qualifications and associated courseware. The Virtual Learning segment provides virtual schools and online program management services. The English Language Learning segment offers Pearson test of English, institutional courseware, and English online solutions. The Workforce Skills offers BTEC, GED, TalentLens, Faethm, Credly, Pearson college, and apprenticeships. The Higher Education segment engages in the US, Canadian, and international higher education courseware businesses. The company was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: 1,024.50 to 1,035
• 50-Day Range: 1,007 to 1,074
• 52-Week Range: 836.40 to 1,084
• Volume: 1.56 million shs
• Average Volume: 2.33 million shs
• Market Capitalization: £6.87 billion
• P/E Ratio: 2,070.00
• Dividend Yield: 2.22%
• Price Target: GBX 1,101.75
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Pearson Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Pearson scored higher than 53% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Pearson has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.60, and is based on 3 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Pearson has only been the subject of 3 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: N/A

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Pearson is 2,070.00, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 139.55.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Pearson is 2,070.00, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Communication Services sector average P/E ratio of about 402.02.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Pearson has a PEG Ratio of 0.83. PEG Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Pearson has a P/B Ratio of 1.85. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: N/A
• Short Interest Level: N/A

Short Interest

There is no current short interest data available for PSON.

Dividend

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Yield

Pearson pays a meaningful dividend of 2.26%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Pearson does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Pearson is 4,600.00%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 4.9 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.61

Short Interest

There is no current short interest data available for PSON.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.6 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.68

News Sentiment

Pearson has a news sentiment score of 0.68. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.42 average news sentiment score of Communication Services companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 4 news articles for Pearson this week, compared to 1 article on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Pearson insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought £3,772.55 in company stock and sold GBX 0 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.35% of the stock of Pearson is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

84.24% of the stock of Pearson is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

PSON Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have PSON shares performed this year?

Pearson's stock was trading at GBX 964.20 at the beginning of 2024. Since then, PSON shares have increased by 7.3% and is now trading at GBX 1,035.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Pearson's earnings last quarter?

Pearson plc (LON:PSON) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July, 24th. The company reported ($5.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by $4.10. Pearson had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 9.83%.

How do I buy shares of Pearson?

Shares of PSON stock and other U.K. stocks can be purchased through online brokerage accounts that support trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSX). Some U.K. companies can be purchased through major U.S. brokerages in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADRs), which are placeholder equities held in a trust by a bank that represent shares of a foreign stock.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Pearson own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Pearson investors own include Xtrackers California Municipal Bond ETF (CA), BlackRock (BLK), Endologix (ELGX), Pearson (PSO), Athabasca Oil (ATH), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and Prudential (PRU).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 7/24/2020
• Ex-Dividend for 9/16 Dividend: 8/08/2024
• Dividend Payable: 9/16/2024
• Today: 9/19/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: LON
• Sector: Communication Services
• Industry: Publishing
• Sub-Industry: Printing And Publishing
• Current Symbol: LON:PSON
• CUSIP: N/A
• CIK: N/A
• Web: www.pearson.com
• Phone: +44-20-70102000
• Fax: N/A
• Employees: 21,400
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: GBX 1,101.75
• High Stock Price Target: GBX 1,220
• Low Stock Price Target: GBX 965
• Potential Upside/Downside: +7.1%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.60
• Research Coverage: 5 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): GBX 0.50
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 2,058.00
• Forward P/E Ratio: 13.57
• P/E Growth: 0.83
• Net Income: £349 million
• Net Margins: 9.83%
• Pretax Margin: N/A
• Return on Equity: 8.78%
• Return on Assets: 4.85%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 43.56
• Current Ratio: 1.78
• Quick Ratio: 1.07

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: £3.55 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.92
• Cash Flow: GBX 58.82 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 17.49
• Book Value: GBX 558 per share
• Price / Book: 1.84

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 664,000,000
• Free Float: N/A
• Market Cap: £6.83 billion
• Optionable: Not Optionable
• Beta: 0.31