PageGroup share price has moved sideways in the past few weeks as investors remain concerned about the state of the global labor market. The PAGE stock price is trading at 438p, where it has been in the past few days. This price is about 13% above the lowest point this year and is about 37% below the year-to-date high.
Growth concerns remain
PageGroup is one of the biggest recruitment companies in the UK. The company provides its services to companies in most sectors through its diverse brands. Some of its top operating brands are companies like Page Personnel, Michael Page, and Page Executive. These three companies are in its Page Outsourcing division. PageGroup also has the Generalist staffing division.
Like all staffing companies, PageGroup has had a relatively busy period in the past two years as companies have accelerated their hiring process following the lockdowns. In March, PageGroup said that its annual revenue in 2021 jumped by 49.1% to 877.7 million pounds.
Consequently, its operating profit jumped by 19.2% to 168 million pounds. This growth was spread across all its geographical locations although the Americas and Asia Pacific led the growth. The two divisions saw their revenue grow by 67% and 53%, respectively. As a result, its operating profit rose by 15.9%.
PageGroup’s revenue continued its growth path in the first half of the year. Its revenue rose by 33.3% to 538.9 million pounds while its basic EPS rose to 25.6p from the previous 12.2p. This growth happened as hiring continued in most geographies. In the UK and the US, the unemployment rate has dropped to about 3.5%.
Now, the PageGroup share price has dropped sharply as investors continue worrying about the company’s growth. For one, many companies are expressing growth concerns as inflation continues biting. For example, the manufacturing and services PMIs dropped sharply in August, signaling that the economy is slowing.
Still, analysts are optimistic that the PAGE stock price will continue rising. According to MarketBeat, the average estimate for the shares is 660p, which is sharply above the current level. The most recent estimates came from Royal Bank of Canada and Barclays, who reiterated their bullish outlooks.
PageGroup share price forecast
The daily chart shows that the PageGroup stock price has been in a tight range in the past few days. A closer look shows that the stock has formed an inverted head and shoulders pattern. In price action analysis, this pattern is usually a bullish sign.
The shares are hovering at the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has moved below the neutral point at 50. Therefore, the stock will likely have a bullish breakout, with the next key resistance level at 500p. A drop below the support at 420p will invalidate the bullish view.
