ATS (NYSE:ATS) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of ATS Corporation (NYSE:ATS) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $33.26 and last traded at $33.0250, with a volume of 73054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of ATS in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ATS in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ATS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ATS in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered ATS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

ATS Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 218.01 and a beta of 1.16.

ATS (NYSE:ATS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $553.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.96 million. ATS had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 0.77%.ATS’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that ATS Corporation will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ATS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATS. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in ATS in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of ATS in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ATS during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in ATS during the third quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in ATS by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.84% of the company’s stock.

About ATS

ATS Corporation (NYSE: ATS) is a Canada-based global provider of automation and energy solutions. Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, the company specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom automation and test systems, as well as fluid handling and control products. Since its founding in 1978, ATS has focused on delivering integrated hardware and software solutions that help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improve efficiency, quality and throughput across a range of industries.

Through its Automation segment, ATS develops bespoke assembly and testing platforms for sectors such as life sciences, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial equipment.