Wickes Group (LON:WIX) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Wickes Group plc (LON:WIX - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 223.50 ($3.02) and last traded at GBX 223.13 ($3.01), with a volume of 120601 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 219.50 ($2.96).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WIX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Wickes Group from GBX 198 ($2.67) to GBX 250 ($3.37) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Shore Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Wickes Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Wickes Group Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of GBX 192.57 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 170.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 456.98. The firm has a market cap of £517.34 million, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.78.

Wickes Group (LON:WIX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported GBX 14.10 ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Wickes Group had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 19.39%. Research analysts predict that Wickes Group plc will post 16.2278978 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wickes Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a GBX 7.30 ($0.10) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This is a boost from Wickes Group's previous dividend of $3.60. This represents a yield of 4.01%. Wickes Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wickes Group

In related news, insider David Wood sold 58,445 shares of Wickes Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 172 ($2.32), for a total transaction of £100,525.40 ($135,680.12). Corporate insiders own 7.16% of the company's stock.

Wickes Group Company Profile

Wickes is one of the UK's best known home improvement retailers. Having opened our first store in 1972 we now have over 230 stores across the UK, employing 8,500 colleagues and offering products ranging from kitchens and bathrooms, to paint, tools and timber. Wickes is a successful, growing, cash generative and profitable business, operating in the large and growing £25 billion UK Home Improvement market.