NEXT (LON:NXT) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

NEXT plc (LON:NXT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as £122.60 ($164.43) and last traded at £122.60 ($164.43), with a volume of 1879388 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at £120.85 ($162.08).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Shore Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of NEXT in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

NEXT Stock Up 1.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of £14.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of £107.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of £101.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 76.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

NEXT (LON:NXT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported GBX 615.10 ($8.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NEXT had a net margin of 13.77% and a return on equity of 55.99%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NEXT plc will post 660.7526882 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NEXT Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th will be paid a GBX 208 ($2.79) dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from NEXT's previous dividend of $75.00. NEXT's payout ratio is 32.49%.

Insider Transactions at NEXT

In related news, insider Richard Papp sold 4,307 shares of NEXT stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of £109.85 ($147.33), for a total value of £473,123.95 ($634,554.65). Also, insider Jeremy Stakol acquired 270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of £118.55 ($159.00) per share, for a total transaction of £32,008.50 ($42,929.86). 6.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NEXT Company Profile

Founded as a tailoring business in Leeds in 1864 by Joseph Hepworth and Son, today, the company offers clothing, footwear, accessories, beauty and home products to our UK and International customers. NEXT has over 500 stores in the United Kingdom and Eire, and over 180 franchise branches across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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