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Michael Page Plc (PAGE.L)

Industrials Balanced

Michael Page matches skilled professionals with companies globally, sitting among the world's leading recruitment specialists.

£1.82

Is Michael Page Plc a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Michael Page matches skilled professionals with companies globally, sitting among the world's leading recruitment specialists.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price-57.4%
52-week range-32% past year
£1.82
Low £1.01High £2.82
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into Michael Page Plc
£426-57%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
£565.75M
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
1.38M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£1.81 – £1.94
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£1.01 – £2.82
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
60.6
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
4.6%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
0.93
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 0.93
Calm
Wild
Roughly in step with the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▲ +8% past week · ▼ -32% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

A major multi-year boom in professional talent demand.

The bear case

Structural shifts toward automated hiring and online platforms reduce reliance on agencies.

What does Michael Page Plc do?

When businesses need a new finance director, a top-tier marketer, or an experienced engineer, they often call Michael Page. This recruitment firm makes its money by charging fees based on a slice of the candidate's salary or through temporary staffing contracts. Keeping an eye on how readily employers are hiring new staff is essential, as this drives their entire revenue engine.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on income and momentum, and weakest on growth.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 30Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 36Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 14Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 39Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 41
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Global brand recognition in professional recruitment
  • Reasonable dividend yield for income-focused portfolios
  • Asset-light business model requiring little physical machinery
What to watch
  • Value screens low (30/100)
  • Growth screens low (14/100)
  • Vulnerability to broader economic recessions and hiring freezes
  • High sensitivity to wage trends and corporate confidence
  • Competition from digital job boards and internal recruitment teams

What do Michael Page Plc's numbers mean?

P/E
60.6
This high price-to-earnings ratio shows that recent profits are currently tiny compared to the total company value.
Dividend yield
4.6%
This tells you how much cash the company pays out to shareholders relative to its share price, though payouts always depend on future business health.
Gross margin
48.2%
Nearly half of the revenue remains after direct service costs, reflecting the typical structure of a professional services firm.
Revenue growth
-5.1%
Sales shrank compared to the previous year, showing that cautious employers are putting hiring decisions on hold.

Does Michael Page Plc pay a dividend?

Yes - Michael Page Plc currently pays a dividend of about 4.6% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

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What are the scenarios for Michael Page Plc?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

£3£2£1today · £2▲ Bull · £2• Base · £2▼ Bear · £1in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +15%Hiring markets stabilise faster than expected.
Base
-5% to +5%Economic conditions remain sluggish with flat hiring demand.
Bear
-15% to -25%Business confidence drops further, triggering widespread recruitment freezes.

What are the pros and cons of Michael Page Plc?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Global brand recognition in professional recruitment
  • Reasonable dividend yield for income-focused portfolios
  • Asset-light business model requiring little physical machinery
The catch3
  • Slumping earnings and declining revenue over the past year
  • Very thin net profit margin leaving little room for error
  • Past share price decline reflects a tough operational environment
Key risks3
  • Vulnerability to broader economic recessions and hiring freezes
  • High sensitivity to wage trends and corporate confidence
  • Competition from digital job boards and internal recruitment teams
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: GBP · flags: none · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.