Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SNN. StockNews.com cut shares of Smith & Nephew from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smith & Nephew

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scharf Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 0.5% in the first quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,996,264 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,985,000 after purchasing an additional 15,930 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 343.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,364,037 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $58,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830,965 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,343,712 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,656,000 after purchasing an additional 44,445 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,884,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,003,050 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,363,000 after purchasing an additional 173,448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Nephew Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SNN opened at $28.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.24. Smith & Nephew has a 52-week low of $21.52 and a 52-week high of $31.31.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells medical devices and services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The company offers knee implant products for knee replacement procedures; hip implants for revision procedures; trauma and extremities products that include internal and external devices used in the stabilization of severe fractures and deformity correction procedures; and other reconstruction products.