Costain Group (LON:COST) Stock Price Down 15.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Costain Group's share price fell by 15.2% in a single day, closing at GBX 138.63 ($1.87) after trading as low as GBX 131.88 ($1.78).
• Insider activity raised concerns as several insiders sold a total of 612,435 shares in recent months, reflecting potential lack of confidence in the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of GBX 5.50, with equity analysts predicting an EPS of 13.76 for the current fiscal year.

Costain Group PLC (LON:COST - Get Free Report) shares were down 15.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as GBX 131.88 ($1.78) and last traded at GBX 138.63 ($1.87). Approximately 12,372,210 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 762% from the average daily volume of 1,435,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 163.40 ($2.21).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Costain Group from GBX 115 to GBX 150 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Costain Group from GBX 150 to GBX 175 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 162.50.

Costain Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.86. The stock has a market cap of £351.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 2.64. The company's 50-day moving average is GBX 153.01 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 125.85.

Costain Group (LON:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Costain Group PLC will post 13.7551582 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Costain Group

In other news, insider Alex Vaughan sold 241,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 144, for a total transaction of £347,960.16. Also, insider Helen Willis sold 100,082 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 142, for a total transaction of £142,116.44. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 612,435 shares of company stock valued at $87,561,906. Corporate insiders own 6.43% of the company's stock.

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.