XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) Shares Up 11.1% – Here’s What Happened

XPS Pensions Group plc (LON:XPS) rose 11.1% during trading on Saturday . The company traded as high as GBX 397 ($4.99) and last traded at GBX 385.45 ($4.85). Approximately 3,388,795 shares traded hands during 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).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 401 ($5.04) price target on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 435 ($5.47) target price on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Shore Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 356.50 ($4.48).

XPS Pensions Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of £795.95 million, a P/E ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.52, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 343.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 331.31.

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

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 GBX 3.70 ($0.05) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.03%. XPS Pensions Group’s payout ratio is 8.03%.

Insider Activity at XPS Pensions Group

In other XPS Pensions Group news, insider Alan Bannatyne bought 13,033 shares of XPS Pensions Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 349 ($4.39) per share, for a total transaction of £45,485.17 ($57,221.25). 5.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

XPS Pensions Group Company Profile

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.