QinetiQ Group (LON:QQ) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

QinetiQ Group plc (LON:QQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 422.61 ($5.80) and traded as high as GBX 482 ($6.62). QinetiQ Group shares last traded at GBX 474.80 ($6.52), with a volume of 2,484,227 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on QQ. Barclays upped their price target on QinetiQ Group from GBX 535 ($7.35) to GBX 570 ($7.83) and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on QinetiQ Group from GBX 500 ($6.87) to GBX 570 ($7.83) and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of QinetiQ Group in a report on Thursday, May 22nd.

QinetiQ Group Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 461.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 424.19. The company has a market capitalization of £2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 41.96.

QinetiQ Group (LON:QQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported GBX 26.10 ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. QinetiQ Group had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 7.03%. As a group, research analysts predict that QinetiQ Group plc will post 26.1405108 EPS for the current year.

QinetiQ Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a GBX 7.72 ($0.11) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from QinetiQ Group's previous dividend of $2.80. This represents a yield of 2.29%. QinetiQ Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.13%.

Insider Activity at QinetiQ Group

In other QinetiQ Group news, insider Steve Wadey sold 75,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 517 ($7.10), for a total value of £388,060.20 ($532,903.32). 12.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About QinetiQ Group

QinetiQ Group plc operates as a science and engineering company in the defense, security, and infrastructure markets in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and internationally. The company operates through EMEA Services and Global Solutions segments. It offers advanced materials and manufacturing products; artificial intelligence, analytics, and advanced computing technologies; cyber and electromagnetic technologies; human protection and performance systems; novel systems, and weapons and effects; platform, and system design and assessment products; power sources, and energy storage and distribution products; robotics and autonomy services; secure communications and navigation systems; and sensing, processing, and data fusion systems.