Hill & Smith (LON:HILS) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Hill & Smith PLC (LON:HILS) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 1,728 ($22.33) and last traded at GBX 1,732 ($22.38), with a volume of 24977 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,746 ($22.56).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 2,500 ($32.30) price objective on shares of Hill & Smith in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Shore Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hill & Smith in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Hill & Smith Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 1,913.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 1,968.88. The company has a market cap of £1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 1.31.

Hill & Smith (LON:HILS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The company reported GBX 122.60 ($1.58) earnings per share for the quarter. Hill & Smith had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 17.39%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hill & Smith PLC will post 129.1287386 EPS for the current year.

Hill & Smith Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of GBX 32.50 ($0.42) per share. This is an increase from Hill & Smith’s previous dividend of $16.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Hill & Smith’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Carol Chesney purchased 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,842 ($23.80) per share, for a total transaction of £19,414.68 ($25,083.57). Also, insider Alan Giddins purchased 4,225 shares of Hill & Smith stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,875 ($24.22) per share, for a total transaction of £79,218.75 ($102,349.81). 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hill & Smith Company Profile

Our purpose is to create sustainable infrastructure and safe transport through innovation.

Hill & Smith PLC is an international group with leading positions in the supply of infrastructure products and galvanizing services to global markets. Through a focus on leading positions in niche markets we aim to consistently deliver strong returns and shareholder value.

Supplying to, and located in, global markets the Group serves customers from facilities in Australia, India, Sweden, the UK and the USA, building a presence in international markets, where countries are upgrading or improving their infrastructure as their economies grow.