Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Given New C$48.00 Price Target at National Bank Financial

Key Points

• National Bank Financial raised its price target to C$48 (from C$45) and maintained an "Outperform" rating, implying roughly a 10.9% upside versus the stock's recent C$43.29 price.
• The analyst picture is mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of C$43.88, based on four Buy and six Hold recommendations and several divergent target revisions (range roughly C$28.75–C$52.00).
• Operational and insider signals are mixed — latest quarter showed EPS C$0.52 on C$1.54B revenue with a slim net margin (0.28%) and a high P/E (188.22), while a director sold 125,000 shares (≈C$5.21M), reducing their stake by 40.43%.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by investment analysts at National Bank Financial from C$45.00 to C$48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. National Bank Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 10.88% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Aecon Group from C$34.25 to C$28.75 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Aecon Group from C$40.00 to C$45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Aecon Group from C$39.00 to C$42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Aecon Group from C$40.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Aecon Group from C$30.00 to C$41.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$43.88.

Aecon Group Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Aecon Group stock traded up C$1.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching C$43.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,963. Aecon Group has a 52-week low of C$15.21 and a 52-week high of C$44.71. The company has a market cap of C$2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 188.22, a PEG ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day moving average is C$39.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$32.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.17.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported C$0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$1.54 billion during the quarter. Aecon Group had a net margin of 0.28% and a return on equity of 1.66%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aecon Group will post 1.3793321 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aecon Group news, Director Eric Stuart Rosenfeld sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.64, for a total value of C$5,205,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 184,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$7,670,088. This represents a 40.43% decrease in their position. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Aecon Group Company Profile

Aecon Group Inc is a Canada-based company that operates in two segments: Construction and Concessions. The Construction segment includes various aspects of the construction of public and private infrastructure projects, mainly in the transportation sector. Its concessions segment is engaged in the development, financing, construction, and operation of infrastructure projects. Aecon generates the majority of its revenue from the Construction segment.

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