While the world continues to wrestle with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, investors are naturally wondering what lies in store for some of the country's largest quoted companies, such as Ashtead (LON:AHT).
Ashtead is an important stock because it's one of just 200 shares in the UK market valued at more than £1.0 billion (its market cap is £11,853m).
Large-caps like this play an influential role in the performance of investment funds and pension portfolios held by millions of savers. For that reason, they are also closely watched by professional analysts, who usually understand their businesses better than most.
So how have the shares performed over the past year?
On a 12 month basis, the Ashtead share price has seen an absolute move of 17.2%. On a relative basis - which take into account the movement of the wider market - the shares have moved by 39.6% over the past year and by 23.5% over the past six months.
But what now?
Do analysts rate it as a buy, sell or hold?
Regardless of recent performance, the main question is what the future holds. In uncertain economic conditions, it's often difficult to get an accurate view. The good news is that analysts generally have a solid understanding of the market's biggest businesses, so they are well-placed to make predictions. That shows up in their Buy, Hold and Sell recommendations.
Among the analysts covering Ashtead, there are currently:
- 3 Buy recommendations
- 10 Hold recommendations
- 0 Sell recommendations
With this kind of information, it's possible to start forming a view about the outlook for any share. A combination of recent price performance and analyst recommendations gives you a flavour of whether the market is expecting a bright future - or whether there are causes for concern.
It's also worth looking at the profile of the stock to understand whether it has strong positive exposure to important factors like Quality, Value and Momentum. On that basis, Stockopedia currently classifies Ashtead as a style neutral.
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for information purposes only. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser. The author has no position in the stocks mentioned, unless otherwise stated.