FirstGroup (LON:FGP) Trading 4.5% Higher

FirstGroup plc (LON:FGP) was up 4.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 164.20 ($2.16) and last traded at GBX 164.20 ($2.16). Approximately 1,106,760 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 1,064,266 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 157.10 ($2.07).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on FGP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a GBX 200 ($2.63) target price on shares of FirstGroup in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on FirstGroup from GBX 195 ($2.56) to GBX 205 ($2.70) and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th.

FirstGroup Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of £945.22 million, a P/E ratio of -7,960.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 256.40, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 164.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 166.86.

FirstGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 18th were given a dividend of GBX 4 ($0.05) per share. This represents a yield of 2.36%. This is a positive change from FirstGroup’s previous dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 18th. FirstGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -30,000.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FirstGroup news, insider Ryan Mangold sold 494,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 159 ($2.09), for a total value of £785,762.10 ($1,033,217.75). 3.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

FirstGroup Company Profile

FirstGroup plc provides public transport services in the United Kingdom. The company operates through First Bus and First Rail segments. The First Bus segment offers local bus services with a fleet of approximately 4,900 buses in the United Kingdom. The First Rail segment operates a passenger rail network that provides long-distance, commuter, regional, and sleeper services through a portfolio of Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express, and Avanti West Coast franchises; and hull trains and Lumos.