Ashtead Group plc (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) Short Interest Down 26.3% in May

Ashtead Group plc (OTCMKTS:ASHTY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 49,900 shares, a decline of 26.3% from the April 30th total of 67,700 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ASHTY. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Ashtead Group from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy".

Ashtead Group Price Performance

OTCMKTS ASHTY traded up $1.92 on Wednesday, hitting $233.28. The stock had a trading volume of 23,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,076. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $221.06 and a 200-day moving average of $248.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.31. Ashtead Group has a 52-week low of $186.01 and a 52-week high of $337.95. The company has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.67.

Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by ($0.38). Ashtead Group had a return on equity of 22.65% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $2.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Equities analysts expect that Ashtead Group will post 15.51 EPS for the current year.

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.