Hays (LON:HAS) Insider Sells 63,122 Shares

Key Points

• Hays insider James Hilton sold 63,122 shares at an average price of GBX 67, generating approximately £42,292 in proceeds.
• Hays shares traded at GBX 66.85, with the company valued at about £1.05 billion. The stock has risen substantially from its 52-week low of GBX 28.68 but remains unprofitable, with a negative P/E ratio and net margin.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of GBX 62.20; targets range from GBX 28 to GBX 85.

Hays plc (LON:HAS - Get Free Report) insider James Hilton sold 63,122 shares of Hays stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 67, for a total value of £42,291.74.

Hays Price Performance

Shares of HAS stock traded down GBX 0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting GBX 66.85. 53,382,199 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,493,020. The firm has a market cap of £1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.77. Hays plc has a fifty-two week low of GBX 28.68 and a fifty-two week high of GBX 78.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of GBX 58.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 43.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 60.68.

Hays (LON:HAS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported GBX (3.64) earnings per share for the quarter. Hays had a negative net margin of 0.91% and a negative return on equity of 13.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hays plc will post 4.0966184 EPS for the current year.

Hays declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 1st that allows the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on HAS shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a GBX 33 target price on shares of Hays in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a GBX 28 price target on shares of Hays in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Hays from GBX 60 to GBX 85 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of GBX 62.20.

Hays Company Profile

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