Hays (LON:HAS) Shares Up 3.6% – What’s Next?

Hays plc (LON:HAS) shares shot up 3.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 53 and last traded at GBX 49.71. Approximately 6,433,742 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 13,208,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 28 price target on shares of Hays in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 33 price objective on shares of Hays in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a GBX 60 target price on shares of Hays in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 57.20.

Hays Trading Up 3.6%

The firm has a market cap of £780.47 million, a P/E ratio of -75.32, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is GBX 34.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 38.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Hays announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 1st that permits the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Hays

In other news, insider Joe Hurd acquired 5,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 35 per share, for a total transaction of £1,985.20. Also, insider Mark Dearnley bought 485,500 shares of Hays stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 30 per share, with a total value of £145,650. Insiders have bought a total of 491,224 shares of company stock worth $14,765,184 in the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hays Company Profile