Max Izzard Buys 25,000 Shares of WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Stock

WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) insider Max Izzard bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were bought 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 bought 20 shares of WH Smith stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 640 per share, with a total value 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 Stock Performance

Shares of SMWH stock traded down GBX 10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching GBX 670. The stock had a trading volume of 159,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,777. WH Smith PLC has a one year low of GBX 585.50 and a one year high of GBX 1,315. The firm has a market cap of £835.46 million, a PE ratio of -5.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 656.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 740.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 253.13.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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