Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Aecon Group Inc. (TSE:ARE) shares hit 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 firms have also recently commented on ARE. TD Securities lowered their target price on Aecon Group from C$17.00 to C$16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$23.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Aecon Group from C$17.50 to C$16.50 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Aecon Group from C$25.00 to C$30.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, National Bankshares raised shares of Aecon Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$17.00 to C$20.50 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aecon Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$21.07.

Insider Activity at Aecon Group

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

Aecon Group Trading Up 0.9 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of C$17.39 and a 200 day moving average of C$16.84. The firm has a market capitalization of C$1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.26, a PEG ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.86, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported C($1.99) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C($2.53) by C$0.54. Aecon Group had a net margin of 0.32% and a return on equity of 1.40%. The business had revenue of C$853.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$1.01 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Aecon Group Inc. will post 1.3797814 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aecon Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Aecon Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -281.48%.

Aecon Group Company Profile

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.