Key Points
- Insider purchase: Director Helen Rose bought 7,972 shares on January 8 at GBX 627 each, costing about £49,984.
- Share and financial snapshot: SMWH opened at GBX 635.50, trades below its 200‑day moving average (GBX 784.94) with a 12‑month range of GBX 585.50–1,315, market cap ~£792m, a negative P/E of -5.60 and a high debt‑to‑equity ratio of 253.13.
- Analyst view: Consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of GBX 875.20; JPMorgan and Peel Hunt recently set GBX 800 targets while Berenberg reduced to Hold with GBX 700.
WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH - Get Free Report) insider Helen Rose purchased 7,972 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 627 per share, with a total value of £49,984.44.
WH Smith Stock Up 0.9%
SMWH opened at GBX 635.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 651.63 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 784.94. WH Smith PLC has a twelve month low of GBX 585.50 and a twelve month high of GBX 1,315. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 253.13, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of £792.44 million, a P/E ratio of -5.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.67.
WH Smith (LON:SMWH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported GBX (14.20) EPS for the quarter. WH Smith had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 17.78%. Research analysts forecast that WH Smith PLC will post 100.9372747 EPS for the current year.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have weighed in on SMWH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of WH Smith from GBX 750 to GBX 800 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Peel Hunt reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 800 target price on shares of WH Smith in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut WH Smith to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from GBX 1,600 to GBX 700 in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 875.20.
Read Our Latest Report on SMWH
About WH Smith
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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