Insider Buying: WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Insider Purchases £168,750 in Stock

WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) insider Max Izzard purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 675 per share, for a total transaction of £168,750.

Max Izzard also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, December 23rd, Max Izzard purchased 20 shares of WH Smith stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 640 per share, for a total transaction of £128.
• On Tuesday, December 23rd, Max Izzard sold 1,704 shares of WH Smith stock. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 637, for a total transaction of £10,854.48.

WH Smith Trading Up 0.6%

WH Smith stock opened at GBX 675 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of £841.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 657.06 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 735.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 253.13, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.85. WH Smith PLC has a 52 week low of GBX 585.50 and a 52 week high of GBX 1,315.

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported GBX (14.20) EPS for the quarter. WH Smith had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 3.44%. Research analysts forecast that WH Smith PLC will post 100.9372747 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SMWH shares. Peel Hunt restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 800 price objective on shares of WH Smith in a report on Friday, December 19th. Berenberg Bank lowered their price target on WH Smith from GBX 700 to GBX 667 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on WH Smith from GBX 750 to GBX 800 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 868.60.

About WH Smith

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.