Wickes Group (LON:WIX) Stock Price Down 5.9% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares fell 5.9% mid‑day following insider selling, trading as low as GBX 212 and last at GBX 215.75 with volume up about 11% versus average.
• Insiders Mark George and David Wood sold a combined 578,483 shares on April 8 at roughly GBX 220–223, representing about £1.28m in proceeds.
• Analysts remain broadly positive—consensus rating is Moderate Buy (4 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) with an average price target of GBX 249.17, while key fundamentals include a market cap of £485.5m, P/E of 13.16 and ROE of 29.5%.

Wickes Group plc (LON:WIX - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 5.9% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as GBX 212 and last traded at GBX 215.75. Approximately 1,271,633 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 1,142,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 229.16.

Specifically, insider Mark George sold 223,433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 220, for a total transaction of £491,552.60. Also, insider David Wood sold 355,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 223, for a total value of £791,761.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WIX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Wickes Group from GBX 250 to GBX 265 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on Wickes Group from GBX 200 to GBX 227 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 280 price target on shares of Wickes Group in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Wickes Group from GBX 275 to GBX 278 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Wickes Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 249.17.

Wickes Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 551.57, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of GBX 227.18 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 226.67. The firm has a market capitalization of £485.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.94.

Wickes Group (LON:WIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported GBX 17.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Wickes Group had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 2.35%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wickes Group plc will post 16.2278978 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 228 stores across the UK, employing 7,400 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 £27 billion UK Home Improvement market. Over the past few years Wickes has consistently outperformed the market, growing share and delivering a CAGR growth rate double that of the market. At Wickes, we have a clear purpose, which is to ‘help the nation feel house proud', and we do this by focusing on our three customer segments - Local Trade, Do-it-for-me and DIY retail.

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