Crest Nicholson (LON:CRST) Stock Price Up 7.2% – Should You Buy?

Crest Nicholson Holdings plc (LON:CRST) rose 7.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as GBX 165.90 ($2.14) and last traded at GBX 163.20 ($2.11). Approximately 29,522,041 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1,090% from the average daily volume of 2,480,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 152.20 ($1.97).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Crest Nicholson to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from GBX 180 ($2.32) to GBX 190 ($2.45) in a research report on Thursday, December 5th.

Crest Nicholson Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of £428.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 2.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 164.04 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 171.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.94, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 3.27.

Crest Nicholson (LON:CRST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported GBX 5.60 ($0.07) EPS for the quarter. Crest Nicholson had a negative return on equity of 3.47% and a negative net margin of 4.21%. Research analysts anticipate that Crest Nicholson Holdings plc will post 9.0980939 EPS for the current year.

Crest Nicholson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of GBX 1.20 ($0.02) per share. This is an increase from Crest Nicholson’s previous dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a yield of 0.78%. Crest Nicholson’s dividend payout ratio is presently -125.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crest Nicholson

In related news, insider William Floydd purchased 11,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 157 ($2.03) per share, for a total transaction of £17,307.68 ($22,346.91). Insiders own 9.46% of the company’s stock.

Crest Nicholson Company Profile

Crest Nicholson Holdings plc engages in building residential homes in the United Kingdom. It develops and sells apartments, houses, and commercial properties. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Addlestone, the United Kingdom.