BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Stock Price

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) had its price target increased by BMO Capital Markets from C$45.00 to C$49.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ARE. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Aecon Group from C$41.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Desjardins upped their price objective on Aecon Group from C$43.00 to C$45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. National Bank Financial increased their target price on Aecon Group from C$45.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their target price on Aecon Group from C$45.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Aecon Group from C$44.00 to C$54.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$49.46.

Aecon Group Trading Up 3.9%

ARE opened at C$49.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.17, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of C$3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 217.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$42.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$34.89. Aecon Group has a fifty-two week low of C$15.68 and a fifty-two week high of C$52.90.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported C($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aecon Group had a net margin of 0.28% and a return on equity of 1.66%. The business had revenue of C$1.26 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aecon Group will post 1.3793321 earnings per share for the current year.

Aecon Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.1925 per share. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 23rd. Aecon Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 330.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aecon Group news, Director Eric Stuart Rosenfeld sold 125,000 shares of Aecon Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.64, for a total transaction of C$5,205,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 184,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$7,670,088. The trade was a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Aecon Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Aecon Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record backlog and revenue growth — Aecon said backlog hit a record CAD 10.9 billion and Q1 revenue increased to about CAD 1.26 billion, improving forward visibility for projects and cash flow. Investor Outlook: Aecon backlog hits record $10.9B as Q1 revenue rises
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullish actions — TD raised its target to C$59 and set a “buy” rating (largest implied upside among peers), likely fueling buying interest. TD target raise to C$59
• Positive Sentiment: Additional target increases — Raymond James lifted its target to C$54, signaling more analyst support and reinforcing momentum. Raymond James target raise to C$54
• Positive Sentiment: Smaller reported loss — Q1 net loss narrowed to about CAD 17.9M from CAD 37.9M a year earlier, showing operating improvement even though EPS was negative (C$0.21). Aecon reports $17.9M first-quarter loss
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO raised its target to C$49 but kept a “market perform” rating — a more cautious view that tempers the unanimous-bull case and suggests limited near-term upside from that shop. BMO target raise to C$49
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and margin caution — EPS remains negative (C$0.21) and net margin is very slim (0.28%); the stock already trades at a high P/E on forward estimates, leaving it vulnerable if backlog conversion or margins disappoint. See the company release and financials for details. Q1 press release & financials
• Neutral Sentiment: Value-pick commentary — Some outlets flagged Aecon as trading below estimated intrinsic worth, which can attract longer?term value buyers even if near-term fundamentals remain mixed. TSX Value Picks article

Aecon Group Company Profile

Aecon Group Inc is a Canada-based company that operates in two segments: Construction and Concessions. The Construction segment includes various aspects of the construction of public and private infrastructure projects, mainly in the transportation sector. Its concessions segment is engaged in the development, financing, construction, and operation of infrastructure projects. Aecon generates the majority of its revenue from the Construction segment.