Balfour Beatty (LON:BBY) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• 52‑week high: Balfour Beatty shares reached a new 52‑week high of GBX 841 (last GBX 836.50) with the stock up about 3%, and Berenberg raised its price target to GBX 870 while the consensus rating is Buy (average target GBX 792.50).
• Recent results show quarterly EPS of GBX 47.60; the firm has a market cap of £4.12 billion, a P/E of 16.41, a net margin of 2.77% and ROE of 23.73%.
• Corporate actions and insider activity: the board approved a share repurchase authorization (note: the report cites an anomalous "0 outstanding shares" figure), and two insiders sold about 231,000 shares on April 8 at GBX 799 while insiders own 1.09% of the stock.

Balfour Beatty plc (LON:BBY - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 841 and last traded at GBX 836.50, with a volume of 2120288 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 828.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Balfour Beatty from GBX 800 to GBX 870 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of GBX 792.50.

Balfour Beatty Trading Up 3.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 89.50, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of £4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is GBX 776.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 730.46.

Balfour Beatty (LON:BBY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported GBX 47.60 EPS for the quarter. Balfour Beatty had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 23.73%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Balfour Beatty plc will post 43.3100698 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Balfour Beatty declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 11th that permits the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Philip Hoare sold 121,214 shares of Balfour Beatty stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 799, for a total transaction of £968,499.86. Also, insider Philip Harrison sold 109,744 shares of Balfour Beatty stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 799, for a total transaction of £876,854.56. 1.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Balfour Beatty Company Profile

Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group. With 26,000 employees across the UK, US and Hong Kong, we're leading the transformation of our industry to meet the challenges of the future. Trusted by our customers to deliver sustainable solutions and strengthen communities, we finance, develop, build, maintain and operate the increasingly complex and critical infrastructure that supports national economies and deliver projects at the heart of local communities. Collaborating with governments, our customers and partners, we deliver powerful new solutions, shape thinking, create skylines and inspire a new generation of talent to be the change-makers of tomorrow.

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