Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Aecon Group Inc. (TSE:ARE) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from C$25.00 to C$28.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Aecon Group traded as high as C$20.56 and last traded at C$20.52, with a volume of 39705 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$20.32.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ARE. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$23.00 to C$22.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Securities cut their price objective on Aecon Group from C$17.00 to C$16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. ATB Capital increased their price objective on Aecon Group from C$21.00 to C$29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Aecon Group from C$13.00 to C$17.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Aecon Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$21.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Timothy John Murphy acquired 4,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$17.66 per share, with a total value of C$74,969.84. In other news, Senior Officer Timothy John Murphy bought 4,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$17.66 per share, with a total value of C$74,969.84. Also, Director Scott Stewart acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$16.54 per share, with a total value of C$165,380.00. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 16,549 shares of company stock worth $274,762. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aecon Group Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of C$1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -75.04, a P/E/G ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$17.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$16.91.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported C($1.99) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C($2.53) by C$0.54. The firm had revenue of C$853.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$1.01 billion. Aecon Group had a net margin of 0.32% and a return on equity of 1.40%. Research analysts expect that Aecon Group Inc. will post 1.3797814 EPS for the current year.

Aecon Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Aecon Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -281.48%.

About Aecon Group

Aecon Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provide construction and infrastructure development services to private and public sector clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Construction and Concessions. The Construction segment focuses on civil infrastructure, urban transportation solutions, nuclear power infrastructure, utility infrastructure, and conventional industrial infrastructure market sectors.