ATS (NYSE:ATS) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $34.46 (last ~$34.28) with the 50-day/200-day moving averages at $30.86 and $28.95 respectively.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — the consensus rating is Hold with a $35.00 price target (two Buy, two Hold, one Sell), and JPMorgan recently raised its objective to $35.00.
• Fundamentals are mixed: quarterly EPS beat ($0.34 vs. $0.30) and revenue rose 16.7% year-over-year, but net margin is low (0.77%) and the P/E is high (228.58); institutional ownership is ~75.8% with several large funds increasing stakes.

Shares of ATS Corporation (NYSE:ATS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $34.46 and last traded at $34.2840, with a volume of 208861 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered ATS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of ATS in a research note on Monday, April 20th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ATS in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered ATS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ATS from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ATS has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.00.

ATS Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 228.58 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.86 and a 200 day moving average of $28.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.65.

ATS (NYSE:ATS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $553.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.96 million. ATS had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 0.77%.ATS's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that ATS Corporation will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ATS

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in ATS by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,644,547 shares of the company's stock worth $210,529,000 after buying an additional 623,369 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ATS by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,888,785 shares of the company's stock worth $189,771,000 after buying an additional 507,491 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ATS by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,397,166 shares of the company's stock worth $93,582,000 after buying an additional 55,731 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in ATS by 187.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,022,693 shares of the company's stock worth $83,269,000 after buying an additional 1,970,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in ATS by 217.5% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,340,265 shares of the company's stock worth $36,918,000 after buying an additional 918,100 shares in the last quarter. 75.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ATS Company Profile

ATS Corporation NYSE: ATS is a Canada-based global provider of automation and energy solutions. Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, the company specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom automation and test systems, as well as fluid handling and control products. Since its founding in 1978, ATS has focused on delivering integrated hardware and software solutions that help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improve efficiency, quality and throughput across a range of industries.

Through its Automation segment, ATS develops bespoke assembly and testing platforms for sectors such as life sciences, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial equipment.

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