Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) Stock Crosses Below 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Ashtead Group plc (OTCMKTS:ASHTY)’s share price crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $251.85 and traded as low as $227.79. Ashtead Group shares last traded at $230.74, with a volume of 10,810 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASHTY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Ashtead Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ashtead Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ashtead Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Ashtead Group Stock Up 0.2 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.77.

Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.47 by ($0.38). Ashtead Group had a return on equity of 22.65% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Ashtead Group plc will post 15.51 EPS for the current year.

About Ashtead Group

Ashtead Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It provides pumps, power generation, heating, cooling, scaffolding, traffic management, temporary flooring, trench shoring, and lifting services.