It has been 12 months of turmoil for UK shares, with the Covid-19 crisis crashing the economy and unsettling the stock market. Unsurprisingly, investors have been laser-focused on the share prices of some of the UK’s biggest companies - including Diploma (LON:DPLM).
Diploma is one of just 200 UK-quoted stocks with a market capitalisation of more than £1 billion. In fact, the stock is currently valued at £1,938m. These top tier shares include some of the world’s best known companies. They have a huge presence in the investment funds and pension portfolios of millions of savers. They are also some of the biggest dividend payers.
So how have shares in Diploma performed? Well, over the past 12 months, the stock has seen an absolute return of 3.13%.
But given the volatility of the market in 2020 - which has rocked some industry sectors very badly - it’s also worth looking at how the shares have performed in relation to the overall market.
On a relative basis, shares in Diploma have moved by 27.6% over the past year and by 5.89% over the past six months.
But what now?
Do analysts rate it as a buy, sell or hold?
Regardless of recent performance, the main concern for investors is what the future holds. In uncertain economic conditions, it's often difficult to get an accurate view. The good news when it comes to the market's biggest stocks is that analysts know these businesses better than most, so they are best-placed to make accurate predictions. That shows up in their Buy, Hold and Sell recommendations.
Among the analysts covering Diploma, there are currently:
- 0 Buy recommendations
- 7 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 Value, Quality and Momentum. On that basis, Stockopedia currently classifies Diploma as a high flyer.
What does this mean for potential investors?
Diploma is one of the most closely watched shares in the market. But while price trends and broker recommendations can give you an idea about the sentiment around a stock, they can't tell you everything.
To get a better understanding of the overall investment case, it's worth doing some investigation yourself.
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.