North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) Shares Gap Up to $20.79

North American Construction Group Ltd. (NYSE:NOA) (TSE:NOA)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $20.79, but opened at $21.37. North American Construction Group shares last traded at $21.37, with a volume of 7,620 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of North American Construction Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of North American Construction Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

North American Construction Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $549.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) (TSE:NOA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $239.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.31 million. North American Construction Group had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 22.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that North American Construction Group Ltd. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

North American Construction Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.074 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from North American Construction Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. North American Construction Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 121.4% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of North American Construction Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. State of Tennessee Treasury Department acquired a new position in shares of North American Construction Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 114.5% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,831 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 142.3% in the third quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.99% of the company’s stock.

About North American Construction Group

North American Construction Group Ltd. provides mining and heavy civil construction services to customers in the resource development and industrial construction sectors in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The company operates Heavy Equipment – Canada, Heavy Equipment – Australia, and Other segments.