Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Johnson Matthey PLC (LON:JMAT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 2,388 and last traded at GBX 2,370, with a volume of 17726 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,374.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank lowered their price target on Johnson Matthey from GBX 2,100 to GBX 2,050 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Johnson Matthey from GBX 1,800 to GBX 2,100 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Johnson Matthey from GBX 2,300 to GBX 2,400 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Johnson Matthey from GBX 2,200 to GBX 2,420 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Panmure Gordon reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 2,370 target price on shares of Johnson Matthey in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson Matthey presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 2,268.

Johnson Matthey Trading Down 0.6%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 2,144.48 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 2,023.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.73. The firm has a market capitalization of £3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.81, a PEG ratio of 49,242.50 and a beta of 0.95.

Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported GBX 51.20 EPS for the quarter. Johnson Matthey had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 0.84%. Analysts anticipate that Johnson Matthey PLC will post 173.4112903 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Matthey

In related news, insider Liam Condon acquired 14 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 2,013 per share, with a total value of £281.82. Also, insider Alastair Judge acquired 12 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 2,321 per share, for a total transaction of £278.52. In the last three months, insiders purchased 46 shares of company stock worth $100,894. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey is a global leader in science that enables a cleaner and healthier world. With over 200 years of sustained commitment to innovation and technological breakthroughs, they improve the function, performance and safety of their customers’ products. Their science has a global impact in areas such as low emission transport, pharmaceuticals, chemical processing and making the most efficient use of the planet’s natural resources. Today more than 13,000 Johnson Matthey professionals collaborate with their network of customers and partners to make a real difference to the world around us.