North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) (TSE:NOA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. ATB Capital reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of North American Construction Group in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of North American Construction Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Loop Capital set a $24.00 target price on North American Construction Group in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded North American Construction Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.00.

North American Construction Group Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:NOA opened at $15.18 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.38. North American Construction Group has a 12-month low of $12.12 and a 12-month high of $19.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 1.15.

North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) (TSE:NOA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $280.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.58 million. North American Construction Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 13.29%. On average, research analysts anticipate that North American Construction Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

North American Construction Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This is an increase from North American Construction Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. North American Construction Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOA. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of North American Construction Group by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,704,392 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,409,000 after purchasing an additional 459,755 shares during the period. Claret Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 2,064,325 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,026,000 after buying an additional 14,686 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in North American Construction Group by 50.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,179,482 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $16,763,000 after buying an additional 393,679 shares during the period. Aegis Financial Corp bought a new stake in North American Construction Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,965,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in North American Construction Group by 9.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 334,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,350,000 after buying an additional 29,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.99% of the company’s stock.

About North American Construction Group

North American Construction Group Ltd (NYSE: NOA) is a Canadian industrial company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, that specializes in providing integrated heavy construction equipment solutions. Through its two core segments—Sales and Rentals—the company offers a comprehensive portfolio of new and used off-highway trucks, wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, dozers and motor graders, along with aftermarket parts and maintenance services.

In its Sales division, North American Construction Group partners with leading global equipment manufacturers to distribute and support a broad range of heavy machinery across multiple industries.