Mears Group plc (LON:MER) Insider Acquires £70,200 in Stock

Mears Group plc (LON:MER) insider Andrew C. M. Smith acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 351 ($4.34) per share, for a total transaction of £70,200 ($86,709.49).

Mears Group Stock Performance

Shares of LON MER traded up GBX 5 ($0.06) during midday trading on Friday, hitting GBX 355 ($4.38). 3,643,624 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 508,456. Mears Group plc has a twelve month low of GBX 207.50 ($2.56) and a twelve month high of GBX 379.50 ($4.69). The firm has a market cap of £345.98 million, a P/E ratio of 1,349.70, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 358.64 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 318.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.24, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Mears Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a dividend of GBX 9.30 ($0.11) per share. This represents a yield of 2.66%. This is a boost from Mears Group’s previous dividend of $3.70. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Mears Group’s payout ratio is presently 4,230.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Numis Securities increased their target price on Mears Group from GBX 375 ($4.63) to GBX 420 ($5.19) and gave the stock an “add” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

About Mears Group

Mears Group plc, through its subsidiaries, provides various outsourced services to the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom. It offers rapid-response and planned maintenance services to local authorities; gas and repair services; and maintenance and repairs, capital works, energy investment, and regeneration solutions for public buildings, as well as grounds maintenance services.