Costain Group (LON:COST) Trading Down 17.1% – Time to Sell?

Costain Group PLC (LON:COST) shares traded down 17.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as GBX 134 ($1.81) and last traded at GBX 135.40 ($1.83). 12,026,422 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 739% from the average session volume of 1,433,124 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 163.40 ($2.21).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Costain Group from GBX 115 to GBX 150 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Costain Group from GBX 150 to GBX 175 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 162.50.

Costain Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of £351.42 million, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 2.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of GBX 153.01 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 125.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.86.

Costain Group (LON:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported GBX 5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Costain Group had a return on equity of 13.56% and a net margin of 2.33%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costain Group PLC will post 13.7551582 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Alex Vaughan sold 241,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 144, for a total value of £347,960.16. Also, insider Helen Willis sold 100,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 142, for a total value of £142,116.44. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 612,435 shares of company stock valued at $87,561,906. 6.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Costain Group

Costain helps to improve people’s lives by creating connected, sustainable infrastructure that enables people and the planet thrive. We shape, create and deliver pioneering solutions that transform the performance of the infrastructure ecosystem across the UK’s energy, water, transportation and defence markets.