NEXT (LON:NXT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

NEXT plc (LON:NXT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as £112.55 ($146.15) and last traded at £110.55 ($143.55), with a volume of 714196 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at £110.85 ($143.94).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NEXT in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

NEXT Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 9,962.09 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 9,897.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 76.08, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of £13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.37.

NEXT (LON:NXT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported GBX 615.10 ($7.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NEXT had a return on equity of 55.99% and a net margin of 13.77%. As a group, analysts predict that NEXT plc will post 660.7526882 EPS for the current year.

NEXT Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th will be paid a GBX 208 ($2.70) dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 17th. This is a positive change from NEXT’s previous dividend of $75.00. This represents a dividend yield of 1.08%. NEXT’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Insider Activity at NEXT

In related news, insider Richard Papp sold 4,307 shares of NEXT stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of £109.85 ($142.64), for a total value of £473,123.95 ($614,366.90). 6.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About NEXT

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.