Kier Group (LON:KIE) Stock Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Kier Group shares broke above their 200-day moving average, reaching GBX 304 before closing at GBX 292.60, compared with a 200-day average of GBX 230.99.
• Analysts remain bullish: four analysts rate the stock a Buy, with an average price target of GBX 300; Berenberg raised its target to GBX 370 and Deutsche Bank to GBX 330.
• Kier reported quarterly EPS of GBX 23.50, but its balance sheet shows high leverage, including a debt-to-equity ratio of 360.81 and current and quick ratios below 1.

Kier Group plc (LON:KIE - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 230.99 and traded as high as GBX 304. Kier Group shares last traded at GBX 292.60, with a volume of 815,078 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KIE shares. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of Kier Group from GBX 300 to GBX 370 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Kier Group from GBX 295 to GBX 330 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of GBX 300.

Kier Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 268.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 230.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 360.81, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of £1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.89.

Kier Group (LON:KIE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 15th. The company reported GBX 23.50 EPS for the quarter. Kier Group had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 1.42%. On average, equities analysts expect that Kier Group plc will post 20.4913295 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Kier Group

Kier Group is a leading infrastructure services, construction and property group based in the UK. Our purpose is to sustainably deliver infrastructure which is vital to the UK with a vision is to be the UK's leading infrastructure services and construction company. We operate through three segments; Infrastructure Services, Construction and Property. Infrastructure Services comprises our Transportation and Natural Resources, Nuclear and Networks business. Transportation: builds and maintains roads for National Highways and a number of district and county councils as well as our rail, airports' infrastructure and ports' businesses. Natural Resources, Nuclear and Networks: delivers long-term contracts providing repairs, maintains and support capital projects to the water, energy, and telecommunications sectors. Construction — comprises of our Regional Building, Strategic Projects, Kier Places (Housing Maintenance and Facilities Management), and International businesses.

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