Hays (LON:HAS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Posted by Linda Flegge on Jul 29th, 2026

Hays plc (LON:HAS – Get Free Report)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 67.15 and last traded at GBX 66.20, with a volume of 6812712 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 64.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on HAS shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Hays from GBX 90 to GBX 75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 33 target price on shares of Hays in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 28 price target on shares of Hays in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a GBX 60 price target on shares of Hays in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hays presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 57.20.

View Our Latest Research Report on HAS

Hays Trading Up 4.0%

The business’s 50 day moving average is GBX 38.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 38.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.55. The firm has a market capitalization of £1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -101.65, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.77.

Hays declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, June 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark Dearnley purchased 485,500 shares of Hays stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 30 per share, with a total value of £145,650. Also, insider Joe Hurd acquired 5,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 35 per share, with a total value of £1,985.20. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.