Analysts Set WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) PT at GBX 868.60

Shares of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 868.60.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SMWH. Peel Hunt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 800 price target on shares of WH Smith in a report on Friday, December 19th. Berenberg Bank cut their target price on WH Smith from GBX 700 to GBX 667 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of WH Smith from GBX 750 to GBX 800 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd.

WH Smith Trading Up 2.3%

LON:SMWH opened at GBX 693.50 on Friday. WH Smith has a 12 month low of GBX 585.50 and a 12 month high of GBX 1,235. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 253.13. The stock has a market capitalization of £864.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.12, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 658.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 702.09.

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The company reported GBX (14.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. WH Smith had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 3.44%. Analysts expect that WH Smith will post 100.9372747 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other WH Smith news, insider Helen Rose purchased 7,972 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 627 per share, with a total value of £49,984.44. Also, insider Max Izzard acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 675 per share, with a total value of £168,750. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 32,992 shares of company stock valued at $21,886,244. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WH Smith Company Profile

WH Smith PLC operates as a retailer in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in two segments, Travel and High Street. The Travel segment offers news, books, and convenience for travelling customers. It operates stores in airports, hospitals, railway stations, and motorway service areas. The High Street segment sells stationery products, including greeting cards, general stationery, art and craft, and gifting products; news and impulse products, such as newspapers, magazines, confectionery, and drinks; and books.