Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Given New C$18.50 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) had its target price boosted by BMO Capital Markets from C$17.50 to C$18.50 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$10.00 to C$13.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$10.50 to C$15.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$16.00 to C$20.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$14.00 to C$26.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Aecon Group from C$21.00 to C$22.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$19.17.

Aecon Group Price Performance

TSE ARE opened at C$17.05 on Friday. Aecon Group has a 52 week low of C$8.42 and a 52 week high of C$17.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 39.29. The stock has a market cap of C$1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$16.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$13.58.

Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported C($0.10) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C($0.14) by C$0.04. Aecon Group had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 16.04%. The firm had revenue of C$846.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$1.03 billion. Analysts forecast that Aecon Group will post 0.7603047 EPS for the current year.

Aecon Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. This is a boost from Aecon Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. Aecon Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Martina Doyle sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$16.42, for a total value of C$37,191.30. In other news, Director Stuart Lee acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$16.33 per share, with a total value of C$114,310.00. Also, Senior Officer Martina Doyle sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$16.42, for a total transaction of C$37,191.30. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

About Aecon Group

Aecon Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provide construction and infrastructure development services to private and public sector clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Construction and Concessions. The Construction segment focuses on civil infrastructure, urban transportation solutions, nuclear power infrastructure, utility infrastructure, and conventional industrial infrastructure market sectors.