Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Aecon Group crossed above its 200‑day moving average (200‑day MA C$33.39) and last traded at C$46.33 with an intraday high of C$47.10 on volume of 178,771 shares.
• Several analysts have raised price targets (e.g., BMO to C$45, CIBC to C$48, Canaccord to C$52), but MarketBeat's consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of C$44.58.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend (annualized C$0.77, yield 1.7%) despite a very high payout ratio of 330%, and a director recently sold 125,000 shares (~C$5.2M), cutting his holding by about 40%.

Aecon Group Inc. (TSE:ARE - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$33.39 and traded as high as C$47.10. Aecon Group shares last traded at C$46.33, with a volume of 178,771 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Aecon Group from C$40.00 to C$45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lifted their price target on Aecon Group from C$39.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price objective on Aecon Group from C$45.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. National Bank Financial increased their price objective on Aecon Group from C$45.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Aecon Group from C$40.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$44.58.

Aecon Group Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$40.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$33.39. The stock has a market cap of C$3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 201.43, a P/E/G ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Aecon Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.1925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Aecon Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 330.43%.

Insider Transactions at Aecon Group

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

About Aecon Group

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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