XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) Trading 11.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

XPS Pensions Group plc (LON:XPS) rose 11.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as GBX 397 ($5.00) and last traded at GBX 385.45 ($4.85). Approximately 3,388,795 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 125% from the average daily volume of 1,504,858 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 347 ($4.37).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XPS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Shore Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 401 ($5.05) price target on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 435 ($5.48) price target on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 356.50 ($4.49).

XPS Pensions Group Trading Up 11.1 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of GBX 343.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 331.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.52. The stock has a market capitalization of £795.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported GBX 9.40 ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter. XPS Pensions Group had a return on equity of 156.24% and a net margin of 128.13%.

XPS Pensions Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of GBX 3.70 ($0.05) per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.03%. XPS Pensions Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.03%.

Insider Transactions at XPS Pensions Group

In other XPS Pensions Group news, insider Alan Bannatyne purchased 13,033 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 349 ($4.39) per share, for a total transaction of £45,485.17 ($57,250.06). Corporate insiders own 5.14% of the company’s stock.

About XPS Pensions Group

XPS Group is a leading UK consulting and administration business specialising in the pensions and insurance sectors. A FTSE 250 company, XPS combines expertise and insight with advanced technology and analytics to address the needs of over 1,400 pension schemes and their sponsoring employers on an ongoing and project basis.