Hill & Smith (LON:HILS) Shares Up 11.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Hill & Smith PLC's stock surged 11.1% on Wednesday, closing at GBX 2,186.98 ($29.53) after trading as high as GBX 2,200 ($29.70).
• Analysts from Berenberg Bank have set a price target of GBX 2,500 ($33.75) on the stock, while Shore Capital downgraded it to a "hold" rating.
• The company reported an EPS of GBX 63.90 ($0.86) in its last quarterly earnings, with expectations of annual EPS around 129.13.

Hill & Smith PLC (LON:HILS - Get Free Report) traded up 11.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from GBX 2,555 to GBX 2,625. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Hill & Smith traded as high as GBX 2,200 ($29.82) and last traded at GBX 2,186.98 ($29.64). 155,445 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 290,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,968 ($26.67).

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HILS. Berenberg Bank restated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 2,500 ($33.88) price objective on shares of Hill & Smith in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Hill & Smith in a research report on Wednesday.

Hill & Smith Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of £1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 2.20. The firm's 50-day moving average price is GBX 1,882.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 1,852.89.

Hill & Smith (LON:HILS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported GBX 63.90 ($0.87) earnings per share for the quarter. Hill & Smith had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 17.39%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hill & Smith PLC will post 129.1287386 earnings per share for the current year.

About Hill & Smith

Our purpose is to create sustainable infrastructure and safe transport through innovation. Hill & Smith PLC is an international group with leading positions in the supply of infrastructure products and galvanizing services to global markets. Through a focus on leading positions in niche markets we aim to consistently deliver strong returns and shareholder value. Supplying to, and located in, global markets the Group serves customers from facilities in Australia, India, Sweden, the UK and the USA, building a presence in international markets, where countries are upgrading or improving their infrastructure as their economies grow.