Hill & Smith (LON:HILS) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Hill & Smith PLC (LON:HILS) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as GBX 1,728 ($22.44) and last traded at GBX 1,732 ($22.49), with a volume of 24977 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,746 ($22.67).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HILS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 2,500 ($32.46) price target on shares of Hill & Smith in a report on Monday, March 17th. Shore Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hill & Smith in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Hill & Smith Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.30. The stock has a market cap of £1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is GBX 1,906.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 1,965.82.

Hill & Smith (LON:HILS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The company reported GBX 122.60 ($1.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Hill & Smith had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 9.23%. Analysts anticipate that Hill & Smith PLC will post 129.1287386 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hill & Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of GBX 32.50 ($0.42) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This is an increase from Hill & Smith’s previous dividend of $16.50. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Hill & Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.30%.

Insider Activity at Hill & Smith

In other Hill & Smith news, insider Carol Chesney acquired 1,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 1,842 ($23.92) per share, for a total transaction of £19,414.68 ($25,210.60). Also, insider Alan Giddins bought 4,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 1,875 ($24.35) per share, for a total transaction of £79,218.75 ($102,868.13). 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Hill & Smith

Our purpose is to create sustainable infrastructure and safe transport through innovation.

Hill & Smith PLC is an international group with leading positions in the supply of infrastructure products and galvanizing services to global markets. Through a focus on leading positions in niche markets we aim to consistently deliver strong returns and shareholder value.

Supplying to, and located in, global markets the Group serves customers from facilities in Australia, India, Sweden, the UK and the USA, building a presence in international markets, where countries are upgrading or improving their infrastructure as their economies grow.