Wickes Group (LON:WIX) Shares Up 8.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Wickes Group plc (LON:WIX) were up 8.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 217 ($2.89) and last traded at GBX 214 ($2.85). Approximately 2,337,002 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,774,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 197.20 ($2.62).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WIX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 198 ($2.64) price objective on shares of Wickes Group in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Shore Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Wickes Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Wickes Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 456.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 181.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 166.41. The stock has a market capitalization of £507.47 million, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.78.

Wickes Group (LON:WIX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported GBX 14.10 ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Wickes Group had a return on equity of 19.39% and a net margin of 2.01%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wickes Group plc will post 16.2278978 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wickes Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a GBX 7.30 ($0.10) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.01%. This is a boost from Wickes Group’s previous dividend of $3.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. Wickes Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David Wood sold 58,445 shares of Wickes Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 172 ($2.29), for a total transaction of £100,525.40 ($133,784.14). Insiders own 7.16% of the company’s stock.

Wickes Group Company Profile

Wickes is one of the UK’s best known home improvement retailers. Having opened our first store in 1972 we now have over 230 stores across the UK, employing 8,500 colleagues and offering products ranging from kitchens and bathrooms, to paint, tools and timber.

Wickes is a successful, growing, cash generative and profitable business, operating in the large and growing £25 billion UK Home Improvement market.