Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Marks and Spencer Group to “overweight” and raised its price target to GBX 450 from GBX 440, implying about 14.83% upside from the current share price.
• The stock has broadly positive analyst support, with six Buy ratings and two Hold ratings; the consensus view is “Moderate Buy” and the average target price is GBX 422.50.
• MKS shares were trading up 3.2% at GBX 391.90, near its 12-month high of GBX 411.80, while recent insider sales by Alison Dolan and Stuart Machin were also noted.

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to an "overweight" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Digital Look reports. The brokerage presently has a GBX 450 price target on the retailer's stock, up from their previous price target of GBX 440. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.83% from the company's current price.

MKS has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a GBX 440 price target on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a "house stock" rating on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a GBX 435 target price on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a GBX 425 price target on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a report on Monday, May 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 422.50.

Marks and Spencer Group Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of MKS opened at GBX 391.90 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is GBX 361.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 360.11. The stock has a market cap of £8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.01. Marks and Spencer Group has a 12 month low of GBX 301.10 and a 12 month high of GBX 411.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 111.89, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 analysts forecast that Marks and Spencer Group will post 26.0113154 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.

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