Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Price Target Raised to C$66.00

Key Points

• National Bank Financial raised Aecon Group’s price target to C$66 from C$64 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying approximately 30% upside from the stock’s C$50.74 price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: six analysts rate Aecon a Buy and five rate it Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of C$55.17.
• Aecon reported quarterly revenue of C$1.63 billion and EPS of C$0.33, but continues to post a negative net margin and return on equity. Recent insider activity was mixed, with a director buying shares while another insider sold stock.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at National Bank Financial from C$64.00 to C$66.00 in a report released on Thursday, BayStreet reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. National Bank Financial's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 30.07% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ARE. TD reduced their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$62.00 to C$61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Aecon Group from C$55.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Aecon Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from C$52.00 to C$60.00 in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Aecon Group from C$56.00 to C$57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Aecon Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from C$46.00 to C$54.00 in a report on Friday, June 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$55.17.

Aecon Group Stock Performance

ARE traded down C$1.37 on Thursday, hitting C$50.74. The company had a trading volume of 390,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 468,836. The company's fifty day moving average price is C$48.33 and its 200 day moving average price is C$47.56. Aecon Group has a 1-year low of C$23.93 and a 1-year high of C$59.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 84.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of C$3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.33 EPS for the quarter. Aecon Group had a negative return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 1.10%. The company had revenue of C$1.63 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Aecon Group will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aecon Group news, Director Scott Stewart bought 4,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$44.89 per share, for a total transaction of C$199,984.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 24,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$1,099,086.76. This trade represents a 22.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Steven Neil Nackan sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$45.55, for a total transaction of C$204,975.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,035 shares in the company, valued at C$365,994.25. The trade was a 35.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $343,875 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.