AJ Bell (LON:AJB) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of AJ Bell (LON:AJB) to a hold rating in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has GBX 361 ($4.54) price target on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Berenberg Bank restated a hold rating and set a GBX 370 ($4.65) price objective on shares of AJ Bell in a report on Friday, April 19th. Shore Capital restated a buy rating on shares of AJ Bell in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of GBX 390.25 ($4.90).

AJ Bell Price Performance

Shares of LON AJB opened at GBX 336 ($4.22) on Friday. AJ Bell has a twelve month low of GBX 241.60 ($3.04) and a twelve month high of GBX 345.36 ($4.34). The company has a current ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 7.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.47. The company has a market capitalization of £1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,976.47, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 305.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 298.46.

AJ Bell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 11th were issued a GBX 7.25 ($0.09) dividend. This is an increase from AJ Bell’s previous dividend of $3.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.81%. AJ Bell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6,470.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Simon Turner sold 27,267 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 308 ($3.87), for a total value of £83,982.36 ($105,505.48). In other AJ Bell news, insider Peter Birch sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 327 ($4.11), for a total transaction of £55,590 ($69,836.68). Also, insider Simon Turner sold 27,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 308 ($3.87), for a total value of £83,982.36 ($105,505.48). 33.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AJ Bell Company Profile

AJ Bell plc, through its subsidiaries, operates investment platforms in the United Kingdom. The company offers AJ Bell Investcentre, which offers advisers and clients service, easy-to-use functionality, and a comprehensive investment range at competitive prices; and AJ Bell, an investment platform. It also provides Touch by AJ Bell, an investment platform which help advisers to streamline their businesses with investment solutions delivered and managed digitally on their clients' smartphones; and Dodl by AJ Bell, an investment app.