Smiths News (LON:SNWS) Shares Up 0.3% – Here’s Why

Smiths News plc (LON:SNWS) shares shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as GBX 70 and last traded at GBX 67.20. 604,547 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 1,179,136 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 95 target price on shares of Smiths News in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Smiths News from GBX 75 to GBX 80 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Smiths News presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of GBX 87.50.

Smiths News Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of -1,469.70, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of £162.65 million, a P/E ratio of 5.95, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is GBX 70.46 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 63.22.

Insider Transactions at Smiths News

In related news, insider Manju Malhotra purchased 30,006 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 66 per share, for a total transaction of £19,803.96. Also, insider Deborah Rabey acquired 13,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 71 per share, for a total transaction of £9,844.86. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Smiths News

In 1792 we started delivering the nation’s newspapers. Today, we’re proud to be the UK’s largest wholesaler of newspapers and magazines, serving 24,000 retailers from superstores to corner shops.

Service and efficiency put us at the forefront of our industry and with 55% market share we are the leading player in one of the world’s fastest-moving supply chains. Our teams go further, when others stop, striving to meet the highest standards in all we do.