Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 6,788.75.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Diploma from GBX 6,200 to GBX 6,800 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Diploma from GBX 5,120 to GBX 5,760 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 7,000 price target on shares of Diploma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Shore Capital Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Diploma in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Diploma from GBX 7,500 to GBX 9,000 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th.

Diploma Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Diploma stock traded up GBX 50 during trading on Friday, reaching GBX 6,800. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 437,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,188,798. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 47.65. Diploma has a 52-week low of GBX 4,842 and a 52-week high of GBX 7,295. The firm’s 50-day moving average is GBX 6,975.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 6,180.05. The company has a market cap of £9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.30, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.92.

Diploma (LON:DPLM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported GBX 74.70 EPS for the quarter. Diploma had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company had revenue of £851.10 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diploma will post 163.7995512 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Katie Bickerstaffe  purchased 177 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 6,730 per share, with a total value of £11,912.10. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.