Pearson plc (LON:PSON) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Pearson plc (LON:PSON – Get Rating) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 797.83 ($9.84).

PSON has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Pearson in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 1,000 ($12.33) price objective on shares of Pearson in a research note on Thursday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a GBX 625 ($7.71) price objective on shares of Pearson in a research note on Thursday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Pearson from GBX 725 ($8.94) to GBX 770 ($9.49) and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a GBX 900 ($11.10) target price on shares of Pearson in a report on Thursday, March 3rd.

In other Pearson news, insider Sally Johnson sold 3,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 753 ($9.28), for a total value of £28,689.30 ($35,370.85). Also, insider Andy Bird sold 205,349 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 653 ($8.05), for a total value of £1,340,928.97 ($1,653,222.75).

PSON stock traded down GBX 11.60 ($0.14) during trading on Friday, hitting GBX 743.60 ($9.17). The stock had a trading volume of 2,464,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,431,781. The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 767.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 667.40. Pearson has a 1-year low of GBX 571 ($7.04) and a 1-year high of GBX 883.60 ($10.89). The stock has a market cap of £5.57 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.51, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.04.

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 24th were given a dividend of GBX 14.20 ($0.18) per share. This is a positive change from Pearson’s previous dividend of $6.30. This represents a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 24th. Pearson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 0.95%.

About Pearson (Get Rating)

Pearson plc provides educational courseware, assessments, and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, other European countries, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Higher Education, and Workforce Skills.

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