ATS (NYSE:ATS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

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

ATS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on ATS from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of ATS in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ATS in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded ATS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ATS in a report on Monday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

ATS Stock Performance

ATS stock opened at $29.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 198.71 and a beta of 1.10. ATS has a 1-year low of $20.90 and a 1-year high of $33.01.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ATS

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aviso Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ATS by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 50,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in ATS by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in ATS by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 16,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in ATS by 0.3% in the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 269,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,062,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in ATS by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. 75.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ATS

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.