Smiths Group plc (LON:SMIN) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Smiths Group plc (LON:SMIN) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 3,128.33.

SMIN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,000 price target on shares of Smiths Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Smiths Group from GBX 2,900 to GBX 2,750 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Smiths Group from GBX 2,830 to GBX 2,810 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd.

Smiths Group Stock Performance

Smiths Group stock opened at GBX 2,596 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 73.19, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 3.04. Smiths Group has a fifty-two week low of GBX 2,088 and a fifty-two week high of GBX 2,746. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 2,496.29 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 2,485.07. The stock has a market cap of £7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.73.

Smiths Group (LON:SMIN) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The company reported GBX 62 EPS for the quarter. Smiths Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 13.71%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Smiths Group will post 85.1295337 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Alister Cowan bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 2,268 per share, with a total value of £113,400. Also, insider Simon Pryce bought 206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 2,532 per share, for a total transaction of £5,215.92. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 5,276 shares of company stock valued at $12,038,832. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

About Smiths Group

Smiths Group plc operates as an industrial engineering company in Americas, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through four businesses: John Crane, Smiths Detection, Flex-Tek, and Smiths Interconnect. The John Crane business engineers mechanical seals, seal support systems, power transmission couplings, and specialized filtration systems. The Smiths Detection business provides sensors and systems that detect and identify explosives, narcotics, weapons, chemical agents, biohazards, and contraband.