Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) Given “Neutral” Rating at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a GBX 460 ($5.68) target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VSVS. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Vesuvius from GBX 480 ($5.93) to GBX 580 ($7.16) and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and issued a GBX 675 ($8.34) price objective on shares of Vesuvius in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

Vesuvius Price Performance

Shares of LON VSVS opened at GBX 470 ($5.81) on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of £1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,072.73, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.30. Vesuvius has a 52 week low of GBX 378.60 ($4.68) and a 52 week high of GBX 504.68 ($6.23). The company’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 483.95 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 459.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.47.

Vesuvius Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 18th will be issued a GBX 16.20 ($0.20) dividend. This represents a yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from Vesuvius’s previous dividend of $6.80. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Vesuvius’s dividend payout ratio is 5,227.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vesuvius

In other Vesuvius news, insider Patrick André sold 66,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 484 ($5.98), for a total value of £320,330.56 ($395,665.22). In other news, insider Patrick André sold 66,184 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 484 ($5.98), for a total transaction of £320,330.56 ($395,665.22). Also, insider Mark Collis acquired 8,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 484 ($5.98) per share, for a total transaction of £39,823.52 ($49,189.13). 1.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vesuvius

Vesuvius plc provides molten metal flow engineering and technology services to steel and foundry industries worldwide. It operates through Flow Control, Sensor & Probes, and Advanced Refractories segments. The company provides consumables and equipment, which includes binders, coatings, feeding systems, filtration and gating systems, melt shop refractories, metallurgical and pouring control systems, die dressings and coatings, melt treatment products, crucibles, and ceramics for the iron, steel, and nonferrous foundries.