Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Position in North American Construction Group Ltd. $NOA

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in North American Construction Group Ltd. (NYSE:NOA) (TSE:NOA) by 259.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,954 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in North American Construction Group were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOA. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of North American Construction Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,789,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,158,000 after purchasing an additional 84,992 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in North American Construction Group by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,442,155 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $20,812,000 after buying an additional 262,673 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp boosted its stake in North American Construction Group by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 1,038,177 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,967,000 after buying an additional 196,243 shares during the period. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in North American Construction Group during the fourth quarter worth $8,475,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in North American Construction Group by 65.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 402,413 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,430,000 after acquiring an additional 158,731 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOA. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of North American Construction Group from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of North American Construction Group in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of North American Construction Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of North American Construction Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.50 target price on shares of North American Construction Group in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.75.

North American Construction Group Stock Performance

NOA stock opened at $14.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.44. North American Construction Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $12.07 and a twelve month high of $17.26. The firm has a market cap of $399.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 1.06.

North American Construction Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. North American Construction Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.30%.

North American Construction Group Profile

North American Construction Group Ltd (NYSE: NOA) is a Canadian industrial company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, that specializes in providing integrated heavy construction equipment solutions. Through its two core segments—Sales and Rentals—the company offers a comprehensive portfolio of new and used off-highway trucks, wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, dozers and motor graders, along with aftermarket parts and maintenance services.

In its Sales division, North American Construction Group partners with leading global equipment manufacturers to distribute and support a broad range of heavy machinery across multiple industries.