In top news on UK stocks, shares of Balfour Beatty PLC (GB:BBY) surged after the company raised its dividend by 10% to 11.5p per share in its annual results for 2023. The company also announced a £100 million share buyback for 2024, aiming for total cash returns of £160 million. BBY shares traded up by 9.5% on Wednesday.
Balfour Beatty is an infrastructure company with extensive expertise in designing a wide range of assets in sectors such as transportation, energy, water, and social infrastructure.
Highlights from the 2023 Results
In the full-year results for 2023, Balfour Beatty’s revenue grew 7% to £9.6 billion compared to last year. The company also reported a modest hike of 2% in its underlying profit from operations from earnings-based businesses to £236 million.
During 2023, the company’s orders declined from £17.4 billion to £16.5 billion. Nonetheless, Balfour highlighted that the order book was stable when adjusted for constant currency. Moving ahead, the company is confident about securing orders for U.S. projects as the downturn in the technology industry eases and in anticipation of lower interest rates.
Additionally, Balfour Beatty expects higher profits from its core infrastructure businesses in 2024, fuelled by accelerated activity in the UK power sector.
Is Balfour Beatty a Good Stock to Buy?
Balfour Beatty benefits from both operational and geographical diversification, coupled with a robust order book. Furthermore, its dedication to shareholder returns is attractive, with a dividend yield of over 3%.
According to TipRanks, BBY stock has been assigned a Moderate Buy consensus rating, backed by two Buy recommendations. The Balfour Beatty share price forecast is 460p, which is 24% higher than the current price.
