Marks and Spencer Group's (MKS) "House Stock" Rating Reiterated at Shore Capital Group

Key Points

• Shore Capital Group reiterated its “house stock” rating on Marks and Spencer Group, while several other brokers maintained bullish views; the consensus remains Moderate Buy with an average target price of GBX 418.57.
• The shares were trading up 0.9% at GBX 376.40, giving the company a market value of about £7.74 billion; the stock has traded between GBX 301.10 and GBX 411.80 over the past year.
• Recent insider selling included large share sales by Stuart Machin and Alison Dolan, though insiders still own only 0.45% of the stock.

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "house stock" rating restated by Shore Capital Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,London Stock Exchange reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 440 target price on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a GBX 425 price target on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Marks and Spencer Group from GBX 415 to GBX 480 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Marks and Spencer Group from GBX 410 to GBX 390 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a GBX 435 price objective on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 418.57.

Marks and Spencer Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MKS stock opened at GBX 376.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of £7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.01. Marks and Spencer Group has a 1-year low of GBX 301.10 and a 1-year high of GBX 411.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of GBX 358.74 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 358.91. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported GBX 23.80 EPS for the quarter. Marks and Spencer Group had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 1.50%.The business had revenue of GBX 1,727.36 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marks and Spencer Group will post 26.0113154 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Marks and Spencer Group news, insider Stuart Machin sold 560,402 shares of the firm's 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. 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 value of £305,150. 0.45% of the stock is owned by 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.

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