Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hays (LON:HAS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its target for Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 but kept a "buy" rating, with the new target said to imply a potential upside of about 133.11% from the stock's recent close.
• Analyst views are mixed—three Buys, one Hold and one Sell—giving an average MarketBeat rating of "Hold" and an average target of GBX 71.60; the stock traded around GBX 32.17, near its 1‑year low, and shows weak fundamentals including a negative net margin, negative ROE and a negative P/E.
• Insiders have been buying: executives acquired 36,737 shares (~£1.39M) over the last three months and now own about 0.76% of the company, signaling insider confidence despite the company's recent underperformance.

Hays (LON:HAS - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by analysts at Citigroup from GBX 90 to GBX 75 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,London Stock Exchange reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup's target price points to a potential upside of 133.11% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on HAS. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a GBX 28 price objective on shares of Hays in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Hays from GBX 100 to GBX 90 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hays has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 71.60.

Hays Price Performance

HAS traded down GBX 0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting GBX 32.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,731,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,989,509. Hays has a 1 year low of GBX 28.68 and a 1 year high of GBX 77.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 36.40 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 47.96. The company has a market cap of £514.41 million, a P/E ratio of -48.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.82.

Hays (LON:HAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported GBX 0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Hays had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a negative return on equity of 2.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hays will post 4.0966184 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael Findlay purchased 25,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 39 per share, for a total transaction of £9,945. Also, insider Cheryl Millington bought 5,000 shares of Hays stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 39 per share, for a total transaction of £1,950. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 36,737 shares of company stock worth $1,389,084. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hays Company Profile

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