Hays (LON:HAS) Trading Up 19.6% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Hays plc shares jumped 19.6% on Friday, trading as high as GBX 43.10 after closing at GBX 35.86 the prior session, despite volume coming in below the recent average.
• Analyst views remain mixed: Jefferies kept an underperform rating, UBS stayed neutral, and Citigroup cut its price target but maintained a buy rating. Overall, MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold with a GBX 64.20 target price.
• Management and insiders have signaled confidence, with the board authorizing a buyback program and insiders recently buying shares, including a large purchase by Mark Dearnley.

Hays plc (LON:HAS - Get Free Report) was up 19.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 43.10 and last traded at GBX 42.90. Approximately 11,017,554 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 13,380,871 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 35.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a GBX 28 price target on shares of Hays in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a GBX 33 target price on shares of Hays in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 64.20.

Hays Stock Up 19.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of £673.52 million, a P/E ratio of -65.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55. The firm's fifty day moving average is GBX 33.49 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 39.04.

Hays announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, June 1st that permits the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hays news, insider Joe Hurd purchased 5,672 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 35 per share, for a total transaction of £1,985.20. Also, insider Mark Dearnley acquired 485,500 shares of Hays stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 30 per share, for a total transaction of £145,650. Insiders bought 491,224 shares of company stock valued at $14,765,184 in the last quarter. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hays Company Profile

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