IWG (LON:IWG) Stock Jumps 1.3% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• IWG shares rose 1.3% to GBX 185.35 in mid-day trading, though volume was 58% below the average session level.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with four Buy ratings and one Hold rating; the consensus target price of GBX 269.80 implies substantial potential upside.
• IWG authorized a $50 million share buyback, while insiders purchased 125,000 shares over the past 90 days—signals that management may view the stock as undervalued.

Shares of IWG plc (LON:IWG - Get Free Report) shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as GBX 186.90 and last traded at GBX 185.35. 4,191,326 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 9,950,249 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 183.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 350 price objective on shares of IWG in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 265 price objective on shares of IWG in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a GBX 260 price target on shares of IWG in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IWG has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 269.80.

IWG Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a market capitalization of £1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 205.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -5.59 and a beta of 1.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is GBX 179.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 184.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of -1,917.40, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

IWG declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 30th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IWG news, insider Christian Schmitz purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 183 per share, for a total transaction of £91,500. Insiders acquired a total of 125,000 shares of company stock valued at $22,050,000 in the last 90 days. 26.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

IWG Company Profile

IWG plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides workspace solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers office, coworking and collaboration, flexible and scalable, meeting, and lounges spaces; workplace recovery; memberships workspaces; and reception services and conference products. It provides its services franchise partners, landlords, and property owners under the Regus, Spaces, HQ, Signature, Basepoint, Stop & Work, The Office Operators, BizDojo, Open Office, No18, The Clubhouse, Central Working, and Copernico brands.

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