Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) Cut to "Hold" at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Ashtead Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Ashtead Group reported $3.80 EPS for the last quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $4.76 by $0.96.
• The company's stock opened at $292.62, with a 12-month range between $186.01 and $337.95, reflecting volatility in its market performance.

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday, September 11th,Zacks.com reports.

Ashtead Group Stock Performance

OTCMKTS:ASHTY traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $294.52. 7,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,377. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $282.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.66. Ashtead Group has a fifty-two week low of $186.01 and a fifty-two week high of $337.95.

Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.76 by ($0.96). Ashtead Group had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The company had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ashtead Group will post 15.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashtead Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.81 per share. This represents a yield of 155.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a boost from Ashtead Group's previous dividend of $1.44. Ashtead Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.25%.

Ashtead Group Company Profile

Ashtead Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It provides pumps, power generation, heating, cooling, scaffolding, traffic management, temporary flooring, trench shoring, and lifting services.