Diploma (LON:DPLM) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 4,654 ($57.95) and last traded at GBX 4,644 ($57.83), with a volume of 1254410 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 4,612 ($57.43).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DPLM. Shore Capital cut Diploma to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 5,100 ($63.50) target price on shares of Diploma in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Diploma from GBX 4,370 ($54.41) to GBX 4,420 ($55.04) and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 4,567.50 ($56.87).

Diploma Trading Up 0.7 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 4,381.44 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 4,367.90. The company has a market capitalization of £6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 5,402.33, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.69.

Diploma (LON:DPLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported GBX 96.50 ($1.20) EPS for the quarter. Diploma had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 13.39%. Analysts anticipate that Diploma PLC will post 163.7995512 EPS for the current year.

Diploma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were issued a GBX 42 ($0.52) dividend. This is a boost from Diploma’s previous dividend of $17.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.93%. Diploma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,627.91%.

Insider Activity at Diploma

In other Diploma news, insider Johnny Thomson sold 26,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 4,536 ($56.48), for a total transaction of £1,215,375.84 ($1,513,355.55). Also, insider Jennifer Ward bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 4,250 ($52.92) per share, with a total value of £42,500 ($52,919.94). Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Diploma Company Profile

Diploma PLC, together with its subsidiaries, supplies specialized technical products and services in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through three business sectors: Life Sciences, Seals, and Controls. The Life Sciences sector supplies technology-enabled products used in surgical procedures in operating theatres and endoscopy; testing equipment and services for clinical laboratories; and bio-pharma, food safety and testing, and other research-oriented products.