Pearson plc (LON:PSON) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from GBX 860 to GBX 776. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Pearson traded as low as GBX 436.80 ($5.75) and last traded at GBX 454.50 ($5.98), with a volume of 5717725 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 499.60 ($6.57).
A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Pearson from GBX 533 ($7.01) to GBX 535 ($7.04) and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “sell” rating and issued a GBX 525 ($6.91) target price on shares of Pearson in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Liberum Capital reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Pearson in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Shore Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Pearson in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group raised Pearson to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from GBX 505 ($6.64) to GBX 605 ($7.96) in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 629.18 ($8.28).
In related news, insider Sidney Taurel purchased 100,000 shares of Pearson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 538 ($7.08) per share, with a total value of £538,000 ($707,708.50).
The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 551.79 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 649.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 39.39, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61.
The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 26th will be paid a GBX 13.50 ($0.18) dividend. This is a positive change from Pearson’s previous dividend of $6.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 26th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Pearson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 0.59%.
Pearson Company Profile (LON:PSON)
Pearson plc provides educational products and services to institutions, governments, professional bodies, and individual learners worldwide. The company operates through North America, Core, and Growth segments. It offers courseware services, including curriculum materials provided in book form and/or through access to digital content; and assessments, such as test development, processing, and scoring services.