Ibstock (LON:IBST) Stock Price Up 23.5% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Ibstock shares jumped 23.5% to GBX 88.40 in heavy trading, with volume more than double the average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold”, with an average price target of GBX 113; targets range from GBX 90 to GBX 130.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of GBX 0.70 but continues to show weak profitability, including a negative net margin of 6.67% and negative return on equity of 6.19%.

Ibstock plc (LON:IBST - Get Free Report) shot up 23.5% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as GBX 89.30 and last traded at GBX 88.40. 10,338,901 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 102% from the average daily volume of 5,107,222 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 71.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Ibstock from GBX 160 to GBX 130 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Ibstock from GBX 115 to GBX 90 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a GBX 100 target price on shares of Ibstock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Peel Hunt reiterated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 125 price target on shares of Ibstock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ibstock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 113.

Ibstock Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is GBX 86.32 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 94.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 54.38. The firm has a market cap of £349.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.51, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.84.

Ibstock (LON:IBST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported GBX 0.70 EPS for the quarter. Ibstock had a negative net margin of 6.67% and a negative return on equity of 6.19%. Analysts expect that Ibstock plc will post 11.0089552 earnings per share for the current year.

Ibstock Company Profile

Ibstock plc manufactures and sells clay and concrete building products and solutions to customers in the residential construction sector in the United Kingdom. The company offers bricks and masonry, which includes facing and engineering bricks, brick slips, special shaped bricks, walling stone, architectural masonry, prefabricated components, eco-habitats, and padstones and lintels, as well as façade systems; roofing products comprising roof tiles and accessories, and chimneys; and flooring and lintels, such as beam and block flooring, insulated flooring, hollowcore, and screed rails.

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