WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Receives “Buy” Rating from Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of WH Smith (LON:SMWH) in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a GBX 1,469 ($18.82) target price on the stock.

Separately, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a buy rating and set a GBX 1,600 ($20.49) price objective on shares of WH Smith in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th.

WH Smith Price Performance

Shares of LON:SMWH opened at GBX 1,213 ($15.54) on Monday. WH Smith has a one year low of GBX 1,069 ($13.69) and a one year high of GBX 1,569 ($20.10). The stock has a market capitalization of £1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,475.51, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 1,151.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 1,220.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 326.20, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.64.

WH Smith Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a GBX 11 ($0.14) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. WH Smith’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,530.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Annette Court purchased 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 1,110 ($14.22) per share, with a total value of £9,990 ($12,796.21). Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.