NEXT (LON:NXT) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of NEXT plc (LON:NXT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as £146.45 and last traded at £146.30, with a volume of 553476 shares. The stock had previously closed at £143.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on NXT shares. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a £180 target price on shares of NEXT in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on NEXT from £135.42 to £132 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a £152 price target on shares of NEXT in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Shore Capital Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of NEXT in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of £140.97.

NEXT Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 108.79, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of £16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is £134.09 and its 200-day moving average price is £132.98.

NEXT (LON:NXT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported GBX 760.10 EPS for the quarter. NEXT had a return on equity of 52.86% and a net margin of 12.87%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NEXT plc will post 660.7526882 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NEXT

In other news, insider Amy Stirling purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of £133.06 per share, for a total transaction of £49,897.50. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

NEXT Company Profile

Founded as a tailoring business in Leeds in 1864 by Joseph Hepworth and Son, today, the company offers clothing, footwear, accessories, beauty and home products to our UK and International customers.

NEXT has over 500 stores in the United Kingdom and Eire, and over 180 franchise branches across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company’s main divisions are NEXT Online, NEXT Retail and NEXT Finance. We also launched Total Platform, an online, distribution, tech and logistics solution, in 2020.