Hays (LON:HAS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Hays (LON:HAS) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported GBX (3.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. Hays had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a negative return on equity of 2.24%.

Here are the key takeaways from Hays’ conference call:

• Pre-exceptional operating profit rose 3% to £48.6 million despite an 8% decline in net fees to £906 million, supported by 7% productivity growth, cost reductions, and strong cash conversion.
• Hays launched its Momentum strategy to focus on 16 countries, six global specialisms, higher-value roles, and three product areas, with a medium-term ambition to increase consultant net fee productivity by more than 50% and restore conversion above 25%.
• The company delivered £50 million of annualized structural savings in FY2026 and targets a further £50 million in FY2027, while technology investments—including AI-enabled search and matching tools—are being rolled out to improve consultant efficiency and fill rates.
• Trading remains subdued, particularly in permanent recruitment, with perm fees down 12% and volumes down 14%; July and August activity was broadly unchanged from Q4, and management said September will be a key indicator of demand trends.
• Hays expects significant further exceptional restructuring costs in FY2027 as it pursues additional savings and reshapes its country portfolio, including potential impacts from exiting or reviewing operations in several European countries.

Hays Price Performance

HAS opened at GBX 67.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of £1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -101.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 50.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 41.15. Hays has a one year low of GBX 28.68 and a one year high of GBX 72.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joe Hurd bought 5,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 35 per share, with a total value of £1,985.20. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hays declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, June 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a GBX 28 target price on shares of Hays in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a GBX 60 price target on shares of Hays in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 33 price objective on shares of Hays in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 57.20.

About Hays