Pearson (LON:PSON) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Pearson plc (LON:PSON - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 1,008.28 ($13.17) and traded as high as GBX 1,050 ($13.71). Pearson shares last traded at GBX 1,046 ($13.66), with a volume of 1,168,268 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSON has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Pearson from GBX 1,050 ($13.71) to GBX 1,052 ($13.74) and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pearson in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 1,170 ($15.28) target price on shares of Pearson in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 1,101.75 ($14.39).

Pearson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of £6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,077.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 1,040.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 1,008.31.

Pearson Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of GBX 7.40 ($0.10) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. Pearson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,600.00%.

Insider Transactions at Pearson

In other news, insider Sherry Coutu purchased 922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 1,017 ($13.28) per share, for a total transaction of £9,376.74 ($12,244.37). Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

About Pearson

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.