Pearson (LON:PSON) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Pearson plc (LON:PSON) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 1,008.28 ($13.17) and traded as high as GBX 1,050 ($13.71). Pearson shares last traded at GBX 1,046 ($13.66), with a volume of 1,168,268 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PSON. Shore Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pearson in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 1,170 ($15.28) price objective on shares of Pearson in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Pearson from GBX 1,050 ($13.71) to GBX 1,052 ($13.74) and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pearson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 1,101.75 ($14.39).

Pearson Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 1,040.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 1,008.31. The firm has a market capitalization of £6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,077.00, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Pearson Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a GBX 7.40 ($0.10) dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. Pearson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,600.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Pearson news, insider Sherry Coutu bought 922 shares of Pearson stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,017 ($13.28) per share, for a total transaction of £9,376.74 ($12,244.37). Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Pearson Company Profile

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.