Costain Group (LON:COST) Trading Down 15.8% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Costain Group's shares fell by 15.8%, closing at GBX 137.60 after trading as low as GBX 131.88, with trading volume significantly increased to over 11 million shares.
• The company reported earnings of GBX 5.50 per share for the last quarter and has a current P/E ratio of 12.28, indicating potential concerns about future performance.
• Insiders have sold a total of 612,435 shares valued at approximately $87.56 million over the past 90 days, raising questions about the company's internal confidence.

Costain Group PLC (LON:COST - Get Free Report) shares were down 15.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 131.88 ($1.78) and last traded at GBX 137.60 ($1.86). Approximately 11,262,430 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 688% from the average daily volume of 1,428,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 163.40 ($2.21).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Costain Group from GBX 115 to GBX 150 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Costain Group from GBX 150 to GBX 175 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costain Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 162.50.

Costain Group Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is GBX 153.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 125.85. The firm has a market capitalization of £351.42 million, a PE ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Costain Group (LON:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported GBX 5.50 earnings per share for the quarter. Costain Group had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 13.56%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costain Group PLC will post 13.7551582 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Helen Willis sold 100,082 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 142, for a total transaction of £142,116.44. Also, insider Alex Vaughan sold 241,639 shares of Costain Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 144, for a total transaction of £347,960.16. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 612,435 shares of company stock worth $87,561,906. 6.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costain Group Company Profile

Costain helps to improve people's lives by creating connected, sustainable infrastructure that enables people and the planet thrive. We shape, create and deliver pioneering solutions that transform the performance of the infrastructure ecosystem across the UK's energy, water, transportation and defence markets.