Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms "Underperform" Rating for Hays (LON:HAS)

Key Points

• Jefferies reaffirmed its “Underperform” rating on Hays and maintained a GBX 28 price target, implying approximately 58% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst opinion remains mixed: Hays has an overall consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 57.20, with targets ranging from GBX 33 to GBX 75.
• Hays reported a quarterly loss of GBX 3.64 per share, alongside a negative net margin and return on equity; the stock was trading at GBX 66.60, near the upper end of its 52-week range.

Hays (LON:HAS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating restated by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Friday,London Stock Exchange reports. They currently have a GBX 28 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 57.96% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on HAS. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a GBX 33 price target on shares of Hays in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a GBX 60 target price on shares of Hays in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 57.20.

Hays Stock Performance

Shares of HAS stock opened at GBX 66.60 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is GBX 49.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 40.96. The firm has a market cap of £1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -100.91, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.77. Hays has a 1 year low of GBX 28.68 and a 1 year high of GBX 72.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Hays (LON:HAS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported GBX (3.64) EPS for the quarter. Hays had a negative return on equity of 2.24% and a negative net margin of 0.16%. Analysts predict that Hays will post 4.0966184 earnings per share for the current year.

Hays announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 1st that allows the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joe Hurd purchased 5,672 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 35 per share, for a total transaction of £1,985.20. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hays Company Profile

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