ATS (NYSE:ATS) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

ATS (NYSE:ATS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ATS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ATS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ATS from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of ATS in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of ATS from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

ATS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATS opened at $26.46 on Tuesday. ATS has a 1 year low of $23.84 and a 1 year high of $35.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.88 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.90.

ATS (NYSE:ATS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.06). ATS had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $535.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.43 million. As a group, research analysts predict that ATS will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATS. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of ATS by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 16,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of ATS by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of ATS by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ATS during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in ATS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ATS Company Profile

ATS Corporation (NYSE: ATS) is a Canada-based global provider of automation and energy solutions. Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, the company specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom automation and test systems, as well as fluid handling and control products. Since its founding in 1978, ATS has focused on delivering integrated hardware and software solutions that help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improve efficiency, quality and throughput across a range of industries.

Through its Automation segment, ATS develops bespoke assembly and testing platforms for sectors such as life sciences, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial equipment.