Hays (LON:HAS) Stock Price Down 8.4% – Here’s What Happened

Hays plc (LON:HAS) was down 8.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as GBX 29.86 and last traded at GBX 30.08. Approximately 268,502,250 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1,678% from the average session volume of 15,102,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 32.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 28 target price on shares of Hays in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 71.60.

Hays Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 33.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 40.73. The stock has a market cap of £516.53 million, a PE ratio of -48.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.77.

Hays announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 1st that permits the company to buyback 0 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Hays

In other Hays news, insider Mark Dearnley acquired 485,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 30 per share, with a total value of £145,650. Also, insider Joe Hurd bought 5,672 shares of Hays stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 35 per share, with a total value of £1,985.20. In the last three months, insiders purchased 491,224 shares of company stock valued at $14,765,184. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hays Company Profile