Share Buyback Program Initiated by Hays (LON:HAS) Board

Hays (LON:HAS) declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, June 1st, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hays Stock Performance

Shares of HAS traded up GBX 1.14 on Monday, reaching GBX 34.14. 4,742,461 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,701,761. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55. The stock has a market cap of £545.90 million, a PE ratio of -51.73, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 32.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 43.24. Hays has a 52-week low of GBX 28.68 and a 52-week high of GBX 74.10.

Hays (LON:HAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported GBX 0.46 EPS for the quarter. Hays had a negative return on equity of 2.24% and a negative net margin of 0.16%. On average, analysts forecast that Hays will post 4.0966184 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 28 target price on shares of Hays in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hays presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 71.60.

Insider Activity at Hays

In other Hays news, insider Helen Cunningham purchased 6,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 32 per share, with a total value of £1,995.84. Also, insider Cheryl Millington purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 39 per share, with a total value of £1,950. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 496,789 shares of company stock valued at $14,961,248. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Hays