AJ Bell (LON:AJB) Hits New 52-Week High at $350.00

AJ Bell plc (LON:AJB) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as GBX 350 ($4.40) and last traded at GBX 339.66 ($4.27), with a volume of 70764 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 336 ($4.22).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AJB shares. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AJ Bell in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AJ Bell to a “hold” rating and set a GBX 361 ($4.54) price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a GBX 370 ($4.65) price objective on shares of AJ Bell in a report on Friday, April 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 390.25 ($4.90).

AJ Bell Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of £1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 2,064.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 307.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 299.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 7.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.47.

AJ Bell Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 11th were paid a dividend of GBX 7.25 ($0.09) per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a positive change from AJ Bell’s previous dividend of $3.50. AJ Bell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6,470.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AJ Bell news, insider Simon Turner sold 27,267 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 308 ($3.87), for a total transaction of £83,982.36 ($105,505.48). 33.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About AJ Bell

AJ Bell plc, through its subsidiaries, operates investment platforms in the United Kingdom. The company offers AJ Bell Investcentre, which offers advisers and clients service, easy-to-use functionality, and a comprehensive investment range at competitive prices; and AJ Bell, an investment platform. It also provides Touch by AJ Bell, an investment platform which help advisers to streamline their businesses with investment solutions delivered and managed digitally on their clients' smartphones; and Dodl by AJ Bell, an investment app.