Crest Nicholson (LON:CRST) Receives Hold Rating from Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" on Crest Nicholson with a GBX 125 price target — which the firm notes implies roughly a 75% upside from the stock's prior close.
• Shares plunged 33.9% to GBX 71.40 on Tuesday with about 69.7 million shares traded versus an average of ~2.7 million, indicating heavy selling pressure.
• Analysts are split (three Buys, three Holds) giving a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average target of GBX 172.33, while firms like RBC and Jefferies have higher targets of GBX 215 and GBX 164 respectively.

Crest Nicholson (LON:CRST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by Stifel Nicolaus in a research report issued on Tuesday,Digital Look reports. They presently have a GBX 125 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target indicates a potential upside of 75.06% from the stock's previous close.

CRST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Crest Nicholson from GBX 205 to GBX 215 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 164 price objective on shares of Crest Nicholson in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 172.33.

Crest Nicholson Stock Down 33.9%

Shares of Crest Nicholson stock traded down GBX 36.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching GBX 71.40. 69,663,430 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,715,811. The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 126.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 141.01. Crest Nicholson has a fifty-two week low of GBX 59.70 and a fifty-two week high of GBX 198.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.15. The stock has a market cap of £183.31 million, a P/E ratio of 79.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.58.

Crest Nicholson (LON:CRST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported GBX 7.80 EPS for the quarter. Crest Nicholson had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 0.30%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Crest Nicholson will post 9.0980939 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gillian Kent bought 9,538 shares of Crest Nicholson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 104 per share, with a total value of £9,919.52. Also, insider Martyn Clark sold 46,077 shares of Crest Nicholson stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 151, for a total transaction of £69,576.27. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,312 shares of company stock valued at $1,091,598 in the last ninety days. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Crest Nicholson

Crest Nicholson Holdings plc engages in building residential homes in the United Kingdom. It develops and sells apartments, houses, and commercial properties. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Addlestone, the United Kingdom.

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