Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) Achieves Record 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Aecon Group Inc. (TSE:ARE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday, following an upgrade from Raymond James, which increased their price target from C$16.00 to C$24.00. Currently, Raymond James maintains a market perform rating on the stock. During the trading session, Aecon Group peaked at C$23.24 and concluded the day at C$23.14, with a trading volume of 85,710 shares. The previous closing price was C$23.06.

Following this upgrade, several other brokerages have also shared their insights on Aecon Group. National Bank Financial elevated their recommendation from “hold” to “strong-buy” in a report dated July 28th. Additionally, Stifel Nicolaus adjusted their price target from C$30.00 to C$31.00 on October 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group also increased their target from C$25.00 to C$28.00, showing their support with a “buy” rating. Meanwhile, CIBC raised their price target from C$22.00 to C$25.00, designating the stock as “outperform” in a report on October 16th. Lastly, National Bankshares improved their rating from “sector perform” to “outperform” while revising their target price from C$17.00 to C$20.50 on July 29th.

A total of five research analysts have given Aecon Group a hold rating, while six have assigned it a buy rating and two have opted for a strong buy rating. According to the accumulated analysis on MarketBeat.com, Aecon Group has an overall consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a mean price target of C$22.07.

Insider Trading Activity

In other developments concerning the company's stock, Senior Officer Timothy John Murphy purchased 4,244 shares on August 8th at an average price of C$17.66 each, amounting to a total investment of C$74,969.84. Currently, insiders hold approximately 0.82% of the stock.

Stock Performance and Metrics

Aecon Group demonstrates a market capitalization of C$1.72 billion and has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of -93.93. The price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio is recorded at 18.18, with a beta value of 1.13. The company shows a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.86, a quick ratio of 1.27, and a current ratio of 1.35. Furthermore, the 50-day simple moving average stands at C$20.43, while the 200-day simple moving average is at C$17.79.

Recent Dividend Announcement

Aecon Group has also made headlines by declaring a quarterly dividend, which was distributed on October 2nd. Shareholders on record as of that date received a dividend payment of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was September 20th. This reflects an annualized dividend of $0.76, resulting in a yield of 2.76%. However, the company’s dividend payout ratio currently stands at -281.48%.

About Aecon Group

Aecon Group Inc. operates through its subsidiaries, offering construction and infrastructure development services to various clients in Canada, the United States, and other international markets. The company has two main segments: Construction and Concessions. The Construction segment caters to sectors including civil infrastructure, urban transportation, nuclear power facilities, utility infrastructure, and conventional industrial infrastructure.

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