IHS (NYSE:IHS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

IHS Holding Limited (NYSE:IHS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,741,181 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 71% from the previous session’s volume of 1,600,930 shares.The stock last traded at $8.2950 and had previously closed at $8.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Williams Trading set a $8.50 price objective on shares of IHS in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research lowered IHS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen lowered IHS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $17.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of IHS from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.38.

IHS Stock Up 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 96.14, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.01.

IHS (NYSE:IHS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.12). IHS had a negative return on equity of 1,351.44% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $415.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $439.16 million.

Insider Activity at IHS

In related news, CEO Sam Darwish sold 124,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.24, for a total transaction of $1,024,026.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 436,015 shares in the company, valued at $3,592,763.60. This represents a 22.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Stephen J. Howden sold 49,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.25, for a total value of $405,999.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 314,912 shares in the company, valued at $2,598,024. This represents a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 344,017 shares of company stock worth $2,826,243 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IHS

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IHS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in IHS in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in IHS during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of IHS by 545.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,975 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of IHS during the fourth quarter valued at $90,000. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC bought a new position in IHS in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. 17.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IHS Company Profile

IHS Inc develops source of information, insight and analytics in different areas of business. The Company’s segments include Resources, Transportation and Consolidated Markets & Solutions. The Company’s Resources segment includes its Energy and Chemicals product offerings. Its Transportation segment includes its Automotive; Maritime & Trade, and Aerospace, Defense & Security product offerings. Its Consolidated Markets & Solutions segment includes its Product Design; Technology, Media & Telecom, and Economics & Country Risk product offerings.