Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON:MKS) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 411.80 and last traded at GBX 409.90, with a volume of 15304916 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 409.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MKS. Citigroup decreased their target price on Marks and Spencer Group from GBX 410 to GBX 390 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Marks and Spencer Group from GBX 415 to GBX 480 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Marks and Spencer Group to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from GBX 440 to GBX 450 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 435 price objective on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 440 target price on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 422.50.

Marks and Spencer Group Stock Down 0.1%

The stock has a market cap of £8.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 372.76 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 363.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 111.89.

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported GBX 23.80 earnings per share for the quarter. Marks and Spencer Group had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 1.50%.The company had revenue of GBX 1,727.36 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Marks and Spencer Group plc will post 26.0113154 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Marks and Spencer Group

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.