Diploma (LON:DPLM) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 4,367.90 ($54.39) and traded as high as GBX 4,612 ($57.43). Diploma shares last traded at GBX 4,581.48 ($57.05), with a volume of 614,589 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DPLM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 5,100 ($63.50) target price on shares of Diploma in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Diploma from GBX 4,370 ($54.41) to GBX 4,420 ($55.04) and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Shore Capital downgraded Diploma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diploma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 4,567.50 ($56.87).

Diploma Trading Up 1.9 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 4,381.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 4,367.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.69, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market cap of £6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 5,327.30, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75.

Diploma (LON:DPLM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported GBX 96.50 ($1.20) earnings per share for the quarter. Diploma had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 9.25%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Diploma PLC will post 163.7995512 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diploma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were issued a GBX 42 ($0.52) dividend. This is a boost from Diploma’s previous dividend of $17.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.93%. Diploma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6,627.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diploma

In related news, insider Chris Davies bought 3,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 4,280 ($53.29) per share, with a total value of £167,647.60 ($208,750.59). Also, insider Johnny Thomson sold 26,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 4,536 ($56.48), for a total transaction of £1,215,375.84 ($1,513,355.55). Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Diploma Company Profile

Diploma PLC, together with its subsidiaries, supplies specialized technical products and services in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through three business sectors: Life Sciences, Seals, and Controls. The Life Sciences sector supplies technology-enabled products used in surgical procedures in operating theatres and endoscopy; testing equipment and services for clinical laboratories; and bio-pharma, food safety and testing, and other research-oriented products.