ATS (NYSE:ATS) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of ATS (NYSE:ATS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of ATS in a report on Monday, January 26th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of ATS in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ATS in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered ATS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on ATS from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

ATS Trading Down 4.6%

NYSE ATS opened at $28.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 189.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.37. ATS has a one year low of $20.90 and a one year high of $33.01.

ATS (NYSE:ATS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $553.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.96 million. ATS had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 0.77%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that ATS will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ATS

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in ATS during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in ATS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of ATS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of ATS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of ATS by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. 75.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ATS Company Profile

ATS Corporation (NYSE: ATS) is a Canada-based global provider of automation and energy solutions. Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, the company specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom automation and test systems, as well as fluid handling and control products. Since its founding in 1978, ATS has focused on delivering integrated hardware and software solutions that help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improve efficiency, quality and throughput across a range of industries.

Through its Automation segment, ATS develops bespoke assembly and testing platforms for sectors such as life sciences, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial equipment.