Kier Group (LON:KIE) Trading Up 6.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Kier Group's shares surged 6.6% after Berenberg Bank upgraded the stock price target from GBX 225 to GBX 240 and maintained a buy rating.
• The company reported GBX 21.60 earnings per share for the last quarter, with analysts predicting an EPS of 20.49 for the current year.
• Kier Group has a market capitalization of £895.96 million and operates in infrastructure services, construction, and property segments.

Kier Group plc (LON:KIE - Get Free Report) traded up 6.6% during trading on Wednesday after Berenberg Bank raised their price target on the stock from GBX 225 to GBX 240. Berenberg Bank currently has a buy rating on the stock. Kier Group traded as high as GBX 211 ($2.84) and last traded at GBX 204.69 ($2.76). 3,934,629 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 51% from the average session volume of 2,610,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 192 ($2.59).

Insider Activity at Kier Group

In related news, insider Simon Kesterton sold 350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 204, for a total transaction of £714,000. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kier Group Trading Down 1.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 302.83. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is GBX 199.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 170.74. The stock has a market capitalization of £924.23 million, a P/E ratio of 2,236.84, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.14.

Kier Group (LON:KIE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported GBX 21.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Kier Group had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 1.09%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kier Group plc will post 20.4913295 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Kier Group

Kier Group is a leading infrastructure services, construction and property group based in the UK. Our purpose is to sustainably deliver infrastructure which is vital to the UK with a vision is to be the UK's leading infrastructure services and construction company. We operate through three segments; Infrastructure Services, Construction and Property.