Pearson (LON:PSON) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Pearson plc (LON:PSON) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as GBX 1,094.50 ($14.19) and last traded at GBX 1,089.09 ($14.12), with a volume of 2105291 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,071.50 ($13.90).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PSON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pearson in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Pearson from GBX 1,050 ($13.62) to GBX 1,052 ($13.64) and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 1,170 ($15.17) price objective on shares of Pearson in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pearson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 1,101.75 ($14.29).

Pearson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.56, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of £7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,274.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 1,042.33 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 1,009.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sherry Coutu acquired 922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 1,017 ($13.19) per share, for a total transaction of £9,376.74 ($12,160.21). Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

About Pearson

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