Insider Buying: WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Insider Acquires 1,250 Shares of Stock

WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) insider Situl Jobanputra acquired 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 1,255 ($15.91) per share, for a total transaction of £15,687.50 ($19,885.28).

WH Smith Stock Performance

SMWH opened at GBX 1,250 ($15.84) on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 326.20, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 1,378.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 1,257.46. WH Smith PLC has a 1 year low of GBX 1,069 ($13.55) and a 1 year high of GBX 1,499 ($19.00). The company has a market capitalization of £1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 2,544.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.67.

WH Smith Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th will be given a GBX 22.60 ($0.29) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 16th. This is a boost from WH Smith’s previous dividend of $11.00. WH Smith’s payout ratio is presently 6,530.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMWH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 1,469 ($18.62) target price on shares of WH Smith in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 1,310 ($16.61) price objective on shares of WH Smith in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 1,600 ($20.28) target price on shares of WH Smith in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

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.