ATS (NYSE:ATS) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• ATS shares fell to a new 52-week low of $17.24, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $19.34 and $26.04, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment has weakened, with recent downgrades from buy to hold and hold to sell. The consensus rating is Hold, although the average price target of $42.50 remains substantially above the current price.
• ATS missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.25 in EPS versus $0.28 expected and revenue of $488.38 million versus $509.71 million; revenue declined 5.8% year over year.

ATS Corporation (NYSE:ATS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $17.24 and last traded at $17.3610, with a volume of 46,674 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATS. Weiss Ratings cut ATS from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. TD Securities lowered ATS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered ATS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Desjardins began coverage on shares of ATS in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.50.

ATS Price Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $19.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.54 and a beta of 1.18.

ATS (NYSE:ATS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $488.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.71 million. ATS had a net margin of 1.60% and a return on equity of 8.96%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ATS Corporation will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ATS

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ATS during the third quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of ATS by 140.3% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,363 shares of the company's stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 18,311 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of ATS in the second quarter worth $713,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of ATS by 3.0% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,683,683 shares of the company's stock worth $47,431,000 after buying an additional 49,234 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of ATS in the second quarter worth $1,001,000. 75.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ATS Company Profile

ATS Corporation, also known as ATS Automation Tooling Systems, is an industrial automation company that designs, builds and services automated manufacturing and assembly systems. Its solutions combine robotics, precision machinery, controls, software, machine vision and other technologies to help manufacturers improve production efficiency, quality and repeatability.

The company provides custom automation equipment, standardized automation products, production systems, packaging and material-handling solutions, and related aftermarket services.

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