Wickes Group plc (LON:WIX) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Wickes Group a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (4 buys, 1 hold, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of GBX 249.17, and several brokers have recently raised targets up to GBX 280.
• Shares opened at GBX 223.50 with a market cap of £502.97m, a P/E of 13.63 and a P/E/G of 0.79, trading within a 12‑month range of GBX 172.60–255.
• Wickes reported quarterly EPS of GBX 17.40 and an ROE of 29.52% but a low net margin of 2.35%, while carrying a notably high debt‑to‑equity of 551.57 and current/quick ratios of 1.07/0.58.

Wickes Group plc (LON:WIX - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 249.17.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WIX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Wickes Group from GBX 250 to GBX 265 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Wickes Group from GBX 200 to GBX 227 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Wickes Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a GBX 280 price objective on shares of Wickes Group in a research report on Thursday.

Wickes Group Stock Performance

Shares of Wickes Group stock opened at GBX 223.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of £502.97 million, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 551.57. Wickes Group has a 12 month low of GBX 172.60 and a 12 month high of GBX 255. The stock's fifty day moving average price is GBX 227.23 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 226.40.

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

About Wickes Group

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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