Diploma (LON:DPLM) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from GBX 6,000 to GBX 6,200. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Diploma traded as high as GBX 5,760 and last traded at GBX 5,705, with a volume of 1768994 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 5,600.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 6,350 target price on shares of Diploma in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Diploma to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from GBX 4,500 to GBX 6,000 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Peel Hunt restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 6,150 price objective on shares of Diploma in a report on Friday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 5,634.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diploma news, insider Ian El-Mokadem acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 5,615 per share, for a total transaction of £28,075. Also, insider Geraldine Huse bought 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 3,997 per share, for a total transaction of £29,977.50. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 2,012 shares of company stock worth $9,993,580. 1.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Diploma

Here are the key news stories impacting Diploma this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 trading: Diploma reported a 14% jump in organic revenue for Q1 and raised its M&A guidance, which underpins the firm’s growth story and supports higher forward earnings expectations. Investing.com article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Deutsche Bank raised its price target from GBX 6,000 to GBX 6,200 and set a “buy” rating, signaling stronger sell-side conviction and providing a clear upside reference for investors. Digital Look broker note
• Positive Sentiment: Board-level buying: Non-executive directors Ian El‑Mokadem and Katie Bickerstaffe have increased their personal holdings, a vote of confidence from the board that reduces governance-related uncertainty. TipRanks announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Insider purchases: Two insiders made open-market buys (Ian El‑Mokadem ~500 shares at ~GBX 5,615; Katie Bickerstaffe ~352 shares at ~GBX 5,645), reinforcing management/board confidence in the share price. MarketBeat filings

Diploma Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 5,411.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 5,351.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.17, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.17. The company has a market capitalization of £7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 41.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75.

Diploma (LON:DPLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 8th. The company reported GBX 176 EPS for the quarter. Diploma had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 9.25%. Equities analysts forecast that Diploma PLC will post 163.7995512 earnings per share for the current year.

Diploma Company Profile

Diploma PLC, together with its subsidiaries, supplies specialized technical products and services in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through three business sectors: Life Sciences, Seals, and Controls. The Life Sciences sector supplies technology-enabled products used in surgical procedures in operating theatres and endoscopy; testing equipment and services for clinical laboratories; and bio-pharma, food safety and testing, and other research-oriented products.