Galliford Try (LON:GFRD) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Galliford Try shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as GBX 728 and last at GBX 721, supported by strong recent price momentum.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Berenberg raised its price target to GBX 750 and reiterated a “Buy” rating, while the consensus rating is also “Buy.”
• The company authorized a share buyback program, though recent insider selling included substantial disposals by Bill Hocking and other executives.

Galliford Try Holdings plc (LON:GFRD - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday. The company traded as high as GBX 728 and last traded at GBX 721, with a volume of 280,843 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 723.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Galliford Try from GBX 680 to GBX 750 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of GBX 650.

Galliford Try Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is GBX 658.69 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 572.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.36, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of £709.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.47.

Galliford Try (LON:GFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 17th. The company reported GBX 41.70 earnings per share for the quarter. Galliford Try had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Galliford Try Holdings plc will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Galliford Try declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 17th that permits the company to repurchase outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Galliford Try

In other Galliford Try news, insider Kris Hampson sold 5,117 shares of Galliford Try stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 534, for a total value of £27,324.78. Also, insider Bill Hocking sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 672, for a total value of £1,680,000. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 276,955 shares of company stock worth $185,975,402. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Galliford Try

Galliford Try is one of the UK's leading construction groups, working to improve the UK's built environment, delivering positive, lasting change for the communities we work in on behalf of our clients. Our business operates mainly under the Galliford Try and Morrison Construction brands, focusing on areas where we have core and proven strengths, namely in Building, Highways and Environment. We see long-term growth and appropriate margins in these markets. Our company is founded on our values of excellence, passion, integrity and collaboration, and our vision is to be a people-orientated, progressive business, driven by our values to deliver lasting change for our stakeholders and the communities we work in.

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