Bodycote (LON:BOY) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Bodycote plc (LON:BOY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Saturday . The stock traded as high as GBX 833 and last traded at GBX 831.50, with a volume of 1125302 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 698.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 900 price target on shares of Bodycote in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Bodycote from GBX 915 to GBX 925 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Bodycote to a “sector perform” rating and set a GBX 775 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Bodycote from GBX 670 to GBX 700 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 830.

Bodycote Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of £1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 674.31 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 695.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.80, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Bodycote (LON:BOY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported GBX 44.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Bodycote had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 7.55%. As a group, analysts forecast that Bodycote plc will post 54.0540541 earnings per share for the current year.

Bodycote Company Profile

The leading provider of heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services worldwide.

Heat treatment encompasses a variety of techniques and specialist engineering processes which improve the properties of metals and alloys and extend the life of components and is a vital part of any manufacturing process.

Bodycote is uniquely placed via our global network and the experience and knowledge of our people to offer high quality, reliable and cost-effective services to manufacturers whatever their size or market sector.