Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) PT Raised to C$18.00

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) had its price target upped by National Bankshares from C$15.00 to C$18.00 in a report released on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ARE. TD Securities raised their price objective on Aecon Group from C$14.00 to C$18.50 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Desjardins raised their price objective on Aecon Group from C$16.00 to C$20.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. CIBC raised their price objective on Aecon Group from C$21.00 to C$22.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Aecon Group from C$17.50 to C$18.50 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Aecon Group from C$17.00 to C$18.25 in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$19.17.

Aecon Group Stock Performance

Aecon Group stock opened at C$17.05 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$16.15 and a 200-day moving average of C$13.58. Aecon Group has a 1 year low of C$8.42 and a 1 year high of C$17.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 39.29, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of C$1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported C($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C($0.14) by C$0.04. Aecon Group had a return on equity of 16.04% and a net margin of 3.49%. The company had revenue of C$846.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$1.03 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aecon Group will post 0.7603047 earnings per share for the current year.

Aecon Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Aecon Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Aecon Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Martina Doyle sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$16.42, for a total transaction of C$37,191.30. In related news, Senior Officer Martina Doyle sold 2,265 shares of Aecon Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$16.42, for a total value of C$37,191.30. Also, Senior Officer Adam Robert Borgatti acquired 4,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$13.07 per share, with a total value of C$55,299.17. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

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.