Insider Buying: WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Insider Acquires 365,853 Shares of Stock

WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) insider Leo Quinn acquired 365,853 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 410 per share, for a total transaction of £1,499,997.30.

Leo Quinn also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, April 24th, Leo Quinn bought 17,764 shares of WH Smith stock. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 560 per share, with a total value of £99,478.40.

WH Smith Trading Down 16.0%

Shares of SMWH traded down GBX 78.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching GBX 412.60. The company had a trading volume of 44,657,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,894,101. WH Smith PLC has a 1-year low of GBX 394.20 and a 1-year high of GBX 1,132. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 846.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 539.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 607.12. The stock has a market cap of £514.49 million, a PE ratio of -4.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.92.

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported GBX (20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. WH Smith had a negative net margin of 9.48% and a negative return on equity of 90.46%. The firm had revenue of £748 million during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that WH Smith PLC will post 100.9372747 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SMWH shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 600 target price on shares of WH Smith in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of WH Smith from GBX 675 to GBX 650 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of WH Smith from GBX 762 to GBX 680 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 703.29.

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.