WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 875.20.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Peel Hunt restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 800 price target on shares of WH Smith in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Berenberg Bank downgraded WH Smith to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from GBX 1,600 to GBX 700 in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on WH Smith from GBX 750 to GBX 800 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd.

WH Smith Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of SMWH stock opened at GBX 623 on Friday. 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 £776.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.67. WH Smith has a 12-month low of GBX 585.50 and a 12-month high of GBX 1,315. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 660.45 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 813.26.

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) last announced 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%. Equities research analysts predict that WH Smith will post 100.9372747 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.