http://www.americanbankingnews.com/getthestreet upgraded shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE: RBA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.
“Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company’s strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, compelling growth in net income, expanding profit margins and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.”
,” the firm’s analyst commented.
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers traded down 2.18% on Thursday, hitting $22.01. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has a 1-year low of $17.81 and a 1-year high of $25.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $21.64. The company has a market cap of $2.344 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 13th.
RBA has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Bank of America downgraded shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 12th. They now have a $23.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $24.00. Separately, analysts at BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 5th. They now have a $21.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $1.04. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, analysts at Jefferies Group raised their price target on shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday, December 27th. They now have a hold rating on the stock.
Two research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, two have issued an overweight rating, nine have given a hold rating, and three have assigned a sell rating to the stock. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers currently has a consensus rating of hold and a consensus target price of $22.55.
Get Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades via Email - Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades and downgrades. Click here to register now.
