Hays (LON:HAS) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Posted by Renee Jackson on Aug 19th, 2026

Hays plc (LON:HAS – Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 70.70 and last traded at GBX 69.83, with a volume of 1641600 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 69.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on HAS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a GBX 60 price objective on shares of Hays in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 33 price target on shares of Hays in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 28 price target on shares of Hays in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 57.20.

View Our Latest Research Report on HAS

Hays Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of £1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 48.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 40.64.

Hays declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joe Hurd acquired 5,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 35 per share, with a total value of £1,985.20. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.