XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) Trading 11.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

XPS Pensions Group plc (LON:XPS)’s share price was up 11.1% during mid-day 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 were traded during mid-day 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

A number of research firms have weighed in on XPS. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 435 ($5.47) target price on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 401 ($5.04) price target 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 356.50 ($4.48).

XPS Pensions Group Stock Up 11.1 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 343.54 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 331.31. 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 company has a market cap of £795.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

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

XPS Pensions Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of GBX 3.70 ($0.05) per share. 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 currently 8.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Alan Bannatyne acquired 13,033 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were bought 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

About XPS Pensions Group

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.