AJ Bell (LON:AJB) Shares Down 1.4%

AJ Bell plc (LON:AJB – Get Rating) dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as GBX 312 ($3.94) and last traded at GBX 317.80 ($4.01). Approximately 189,011 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 680,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 322.20 ($4.07).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of AJ Bell from GBX 300 ($3.79) to GBX 370 ($4.67) and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AJ Bell in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Numis Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of AJ Bell in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a GBX 310 ($3.91) target price on shares of AJ Bell in a research report on Friday, April 21st.

AJ Bell Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.47, a current ratio of 7.55 and a quick ratio of 7.16. The stock has a market cap of £1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,889.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 334.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 344.57.

AJ Bell Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 19th were given a GBX 4.59 ($0.06) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 19th. This represents a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from AJ Bell’s previous dividend of $2.78. AJ Bell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6,363.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael Thomas Summersgill sold 4,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 329 ($4.15), for a total transaction of £15,989.40 ($20,175.90). 34.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AJ Bell Company Profile

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AJ Bell plc, through its subsidiaries, operates investment platforms in the United Kingdom. The company offers AJ Bell Investcentre, which provides a suite of products, services, investment solutions, and online tools for regulated financial advisers and wealth managers to help them manage retail customers' portfolio; and AJ Bell, an investment platform proposition that include investment solutions through in-house funds, ready-made portfolios, and guidance through the AJ Bell funds list to execution-only retail customers, as well as cash savings solutions.