XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) Trading Up 11.1% – Time to Buy?

XPS Pensions Group plc (LON:XPS) was up 11.1% on Saturday . The company traded as high as GBX 397 ($5.00) and last traded at GBX 385.45 ($4.85). Approximately 3,388,795 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 125% from the average daily volume of 1,504,858 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 347 ($4.37).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 401 ($5.05) target price on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 435 ($5.48) price objective on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, XPS Pensions Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 356.50 ($4.49).

XPS Pensions Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of £795.95 million, a PE ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.52, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 343.54 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 331.16.

XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported GBX 9.40 ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. XPS Pensions Group had a return on equity of 156.24% and a net margin of 128.13%.

XPS Pensions Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of GBX 3.70 ($0.05) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.03%. XPS Pensions Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.03%.

Insider Activity at XPS Pensions Group

In other XPS Pensions Group news, insider Alan Bannatyne bought 13,033 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 349 ($4.39) per share, for a total transaction of £45,485.17 ($57,250.06). 5.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

XPS Pensions Group Company Profile

XPS Group is a leading UK consulting and administration business specialising in the pensions and insurance sectors. A FTSE 250 company, XPS combines expertise and insight with advanced technology and analytics to address the needs of over 1,400 pension schemes and their sponsoring employers on an ongoing and project basis.