Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON:MKS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON:MKS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 422.50.

Several brokerages recently commented on MKS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Marks and Spencer Group to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from GBX 440 to GBX 450 in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Shore Capital Group reiterated a “house stock” rating on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 425 target price on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 440 target price on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 435 target price on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

Marks and Spencer Group Price Performance

MKS stock opened at GBX 405.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 111.89. Marks and Spencer Group has a one year low of GBX 301.10 and a one year high of GBX 411.80. The firm has a market capitalization of £8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 373.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 363.91.

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported GBX 23.80 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of GBX 1,727.36 billion for the quarter. Marks and Spencer Group had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 8.86%. On average, analysts forecast that Marks and Spencer Group will post 26.0113154 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marks and Spencer Group

In other Marks and Spencer Group news, insider Alison Dolan sold 85,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 359, for a total transaction of £305,150. Also, insider Stuart Machin sold 560,402 shares of Marks and Spencer Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 384, for a total value of £2,151,943.68. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marks and Spencer Group Company Profile

M&S has a heritage of quality, innovation and value for money and has been voted the UK’s most trusted brand. From these foundations, M&S is reshaping for sustainable profitable growth and value creation.

We operate as a family of businesses, selling high-quality, great-value, own-brand products and services, alongside a carefully selected range of third-party brands. We do this through a network of stores and websites globally, and together, across our stores, support centres, warehouses and supply chain, our 65,000 colleagues serve over 30 million customers each year.