Market Cap
UK£2.4b
Last Updated
2020/02/21 20:40 UTC
Data Sources
Company Financials +
Executive Summary
Hays plc operates as a recruitment company in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally.
Rewards
Risk Analysis
Snowflake Analysis
Flawless balance sheet established dividend payer.
Similar Companies
Share Price & News
How has Hays's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: HAS has not had significant price volatility in the past 3 months.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
-3.8%
HAS
0.8%
GB Professional Services
0.05%
GB Market
1 Year Return
4.8%
HAS
24.1%
GB Professional Services
7.1%
GB Market
Return vs Industry: HAS underperformed the UK Professional Services industry which returned 24.1% over the past year.
Return vs Market: HAS underperformed the UK Market which returned 7.1% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| HAS | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | -3.8% | 0.8% | 0.05% |
| 30 Day | -3.2% | 4.6% | -1.7% |
| 90 Day | -4.0% | 11.4% | 4.1% |
| 1 Year | 11.9%4.8% | 27.0%24.1% | 12.6%7.1% |
| 3 Year | 19.9%3.2% | 58.8%48.1% | 18.4%3.6% |
| 5 Year | 25.5%3.7% | 117.4%91.9% | 35.2%4.2% |
Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is Hays's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
1 week ago | Simply Wall St
Is Hays plc's (LON:HAS) ROE Of 23% Impressive?3 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
Here's How P/E Ratios Can Help Us Understand Hays plc (LON:HAS)1 month ago | Simply Wall St
How Many Hays plc (LON:HAS) Shares Have Insiders Sold, In The Last Year?Valuation
Is Hays undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
22.4%
Undervalued compared to fair value
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: HAS (£1.59) is trading below our estimate of fair value (£2.05)
Significantly Below Fair Value: HAS is trading below fair value by more than 20%.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: HAS is good value based on its PE Ratio (16.1x) compared to the Professional Services industry average (21.6x).
PE vs Market: HAS is good value based on its PE Ratio (16.1x) compared to the UK market (18.5x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: HAS is poor value based on its PEG Ratio (2.4x)
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: HAS is overvalued based on its PB Ratio (3.7x) compared to the GB Professional Services industry average (3x).
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is Hays forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 10 analysts?
6.8%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: HAS's forecast earnings growth (6.8% per year) is above the savings rate (0.5%).
Earnings vs Market: HAS's earnings (6.8% per year) are forecast to grow slower than the UK market (13% per year).
High Growth Earnings: HAS's earnings are forecast to grow, but not significantly.
Revenue vs Market: HAS's revenue (3.3% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the UK market (3.5% per year).
High Growth Revenue: HAS's revenue (3.3% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.
Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts
Future Return on Equity
Future ROE: HAS's Return on Equity is forecast to be high in 3 years time (20.3%)
Next Steps
Past Performance
How has Hays performed over the past 5 years?
10.1%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: HAS has high quality earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: HAS's current net profit margins (2.3%) are lower than last year (2.9%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: HAS's earnings have grown by 10.1% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: HAS's has had negative earnings growth over the past year, so it can't be compared to its 5-year average.
Earnings vs Industry: HAS had negative earnings growth (-16.8%) over the past year, making it difficult to compare to the Professional Services industry average (16%).
Return on Equity
High ROE: HAS's Return on Equity (23%) is considered high.
Return on Assets
Return on Capital Employed
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is Hays's financial position?
Financial Position Analysis
Short Term Liabilities: HAS's short term assets (£1.0B) exceed its short term liabilities (£658.5M).
Long Term Liabilities: HAS's short term assets (£1.0B) exceed its long term liabilities (£294.5M).
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Debt Level: HAS's debt to equity ratio (14.4%) is considered satisfactory.
Reducing Debt: HAS's debt to equity ratio has reduced from 61.3% to 14.4% over the past 5 years.
Debt Coverage: HAS's debt is well covered by operating cash flow (199.3%).
Interest Coverage: HAS's interest payments on its debt are well covered by EBIT (53.2x coverage).
Balance Sheet
Inventory Level: HAS has a low level of unsold assets or inventory.
Debt Coverage by Assets: HAS's debt is covered by short term assets (assets are 11.3x debt).
Next Steps
Dividend
What is Hays's current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
5.92%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Current dividend yield vs market & industry
Notable Dividend: HAS's dividend (5.92%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the UK market (1.79%).
High Dividend: HAS's dividend (5.92%) is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the UK market (5.09%)
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: HAS's dividend payments have been volatile in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: HAS's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: With its reasonably low payout ratio (40.3%), HAS's dividend payments are well covered by earnings.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: HAS's dividends in 3 years are forecast to be covered by earnings (72.8% payout ratio).
Next Steps
Management
How experienced are the management team and are they aligned to shareholders interests?
9.8yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Alistair Cox (58yo)
12.3yrs
Tenure
UK£2,698,000
Compensation
Mr. Alistair Richard Cox has been the Chief Executive Officer of Hays plc since November 2007 and also has been its Executive Director since September 1, 2007. Mr. Cox served as the President of Lafarge Ma ...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Alistair's total compensation ($USD3.50M) is above average for companies of similar size in the UK market ($USD2.33M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Alistair's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO & Executive Director | 12.3yrs | UK£2.70m | 0.26% £6.3m | |
| Group Finance Director & Executive Director | 13.8yrs | UK£1.95m | 0.092% £2.2m | |
| Chief Technology Officer | 0yrs | no data | no data | |
| Head of Investor Relations | 0yrs | no data | no data | |
| Company Secretary & General Counsel | 7yrs | no data | no data | |
| Chief Marketing Officer | 11.8yrs | no data | no data | |
| Managing Director of France & Benelux | 0yrs | no data | no data | |
| Managing Director of Continental Europe & Rest of World | 0yrs | no data | no data | |
| Managing Director of West & Wales | 6.3yrs | no data | no data | |
| Uk & Ireland Managing Director and Chairman of the Asia Pacific Business | 7.8yrs | no data | no data |
9.8yrs
Average Tenure
58yo
Average Age
Experienced Management: HAS's management team is seasoned and experienced (9.8 years average tenure).
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO & Executive Director | 12.3yrs | UK£2.70m | 0.26% £6.3m | |
| Group Finance Director & Executive Director | 13.8yrs | UK£1.95m | 0.092% £2.2m | |
| Independent Non-Executive Director | 6.7yrs | UK£57.00k | no data | |
| Independent Non-Executive Director | 2.6yrs | UK£70.00k | 0.00027% £6.4k | |
| Non-Executive Director | 1yrs | UK£61.00k | no data | |
| Non-Executive Chairman | 1.6yrs | UK£205.00k | 0.0024% £56.7k | |
| Senior Independent Director | 1yrs | UK£68.00k | 0.0018% £41.8k | |
| Independent Non-Executive Director | 0.7yrs | UK£4.00k | no data |
2.1yrs
Average Tenure
58.5yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: HAS's board of directors are not considered experienced ( 2.1 years average tenure), which suggests a new board.
Ownership
Who are the major shareholders and have insiders been buying or selling?
Insider Trading Volume
Insider Buying: Insufficient data to determine if insiders have bought more shares than they have sold in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.
Top Shareholders
Company Information
Hays plc's company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: Hays plc
- Ticker: HAS
- Exchange: LSE
- Founded: 1968
- Industry: Human Resource and Employment Services
- Sector: Commercial Services
- Market Cap: UK£2.372b
- Shares outstanding: 1.47b
- Website: https://www.haysplc.com
Number of Employees
Location
- Hays plc
- 20 Triton Street
- London
- Greater London
- NW1 3BF
- United Kingdom
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HAYP.F | OTCPK (Pink Sheets LLC) | Yes | Ordinary Shares | US | USD | Jan 1992 |
| HAS | LSE (London Stock Exchange) | Yes | Ordinary Shares | GB | GBP | Jan 1992 |
| HAY | DB (Deutsche Boerse AG) | Yes | Ordinary Shares | DE | EUR | Jan 1992 |
| HASL | BATS-CHIXE (BATS 'Chi-X Europe') | Yes | Ordinary Shares | GB | GBP | Jan 1992 |
| HAYP.Y | OTCPK (Pink Sheets LLC) | UNSPONSORD ADR | US | USD | Feb 2010 |
Biography
Hays plc operates as a recruitment company in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers permanent, temporary, and contractor recruitment services, such as qualified, professional, and skilled recruitment to public and private sector. It specializes in offering recruitment services in the areas of accountancy and finance, construction and property, information technology, life sciences, sales and marketing, banking and capital markets, contact centers, education, engineering and manufacturing, executive, financial services, health and social care, human resources, legal, office professionals, energy, oil and gas, purchasing, retail, resources and mining, and telecoms. Hays plc was founded in 1968 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2020/02/21 20:40 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2020/02/21 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2019/12/31 |
| Annual Earnings | 2019/06/30 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.