Balfour Beatty (LON:BBY) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Balfour Beatty shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching GBX 885.50 before closing at GBX 876 on trading volume of 1.47 million shares.
• Analysts remain bullish: Berenberg, Deutsche Bank and Jefferies all maintain Buy ratings, with price targets ranging from GBX 985 to GBX 1,100 and a consensus target of GBX 1,051.67.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of GBX 21.70 per share, with a 22.88% return on equity and a 2.60% net margin; analysts expect full-year earnings of GBX 43.31 per share.

Balfour Beatty plc (LON:BBY - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 850.10 and traded as high as GBX 885.50. Balfour Beatty shares last traded at GBX 876, with a volume of 1,473,163 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Balfour Beatty from GBX 870 to GBX 1,070 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Balfour Beatty from GBX 990 to GBX 1,100 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 985 target price on shares of Balfour Beatty in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 1,051.67.

Balfour Beatty Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of £4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.45, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 890.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 850.10.

Balfour Beatty (LON:BBY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported GBX 21.70 earnings per share for the quarter. Balfour Beatty had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 2.60%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Balfour Beatty plc will post 43.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Balfour Beatty Company Profile

Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group. With 26,000 employees across the UK, US and Hong Kong, we're leading the transformation of our industry to meet the challenges of the future. Trusted by our customers to deliver sustainable solutions and strengthen communities, we finance, develop, build, maintain and operate the increasingly complex and critical infrastructure that supports national economies and deliver projects at the heart of local communities. Collaborating with governments, our customers and partners, we deliver powerful new solutions, shape thinking, create skylines and inspire a new generation of talent to be the change-makers of tomorrow.

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