National Bank Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Stock

Key Points

• National Bank Financial raised its price target on Aecon Group from C$48 to C$59 and kept an "outperform" rating, implying roughly an 18.9% upside
• Aecon shares traded at C$49.61 (down 0.7%) with a market cap of C$3.40B, yet the stock carries a very high valuation (PE ratio 215.70) after reporting quarterly EPS of C($0.21) and thin margins, while analysts project about 1.38 EPS for the year.
• Insider activity: Director Eric Stuart Rosenfeld sold 125,000 shares for C$5.205M in late March—reducing his stake by ~40.4%—and corporate insiders now own just 0.82% of the company.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at National Bank Financial from C$48.00 to C$59.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. National Bank Financial's price target indicates a potential upside of 18.93% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ARE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Aecon Group from C$45.00 to C$49.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$44.00 to C$54.00 in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$47.00 to C$49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$52.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Aecon Group from C$45.00 to C$52.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$52.29.

Aecon Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of ARE traded down C$0.36 on Thursday, reaching C$49.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 386,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,422. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.17. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 215.70, a PEG ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.97. Aecon Group has a twelve month low of C$16.16 and a twelve month high of C$52.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$42.58 and a 200-day moving average of C$34.89.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported C($0.21) EPS for the quarter. Aecon Group had a net margin of 0.28% and a return on equity of 1.66%. The firm had revenue of C$1.26 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Aecon Group will post 1.3793321 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Aecon Group news, Director Eric Stuart Rosenfeld sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.64, for a total value of C$5,205,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 184,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$7,670,088. This represents a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

About Aecon Group

Aecon Group Inc is a Canada-based company that operates in two segments: Construction and Concessions. The Construction segment includes various aspects of the construction of public and private infrastructure projects, mainly in the transportation sector. Its concessions segment is engaged in the development, financing, construction, and operation of infrastructure projects. Aecon generates the majority of its revenue from the Construction segment.

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