Hays (LON:HAS) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Hays plc reached a new 52-week low at GBX 55.35 ($0.75) amid trading, reflecting a decline from its previous close of GBX 57.10 ($0.78).
• Equity analysts have lowered target prices for Hays, with Jefferies cutting their target from GBX 85 to GBX 61, indicating a hold rating on the stock.
• Insider transactions revealed that company insiders purchased a total of 563,720 shares worth approximately $35 million over the last 90 days, showing confidence in the company despite its current stock performance.

Shares of Hays plc (LON:HAS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as GBX 55.35 ($0.75) and last traded at GBX 55.70 ($0.76), with a volume of 1043968 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 57.10 ($0.78).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Hays from GBX 85 to GBX 61 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hays from GBX 110 to GBX 90 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Hays from GBX 100 to GBX 95 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a GBX 70 target price on shares of Hays in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 79.

Hays Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 63.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 69.39. The firm has a market capitalization of £884.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11,336.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.13.

Hays (LON:HAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported GBX 1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Hays had a negative return on equity of 0.84% and a negative net margin of 0.07%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hays plc will post 4.0966184 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Hays news, insider Michael Findlay bought 33,415 shares of Hays stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 60 per share, for a total transaction of £20,049. Also, insider Joe Hurd purchased 1,923 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 64 per share, for a total transaction of £1,230.72. Insiders bought a total of 563,720 shares of company stock worth $35,010,128 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Hays

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