NEXT (LON:NXT) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

NEXT plc (LON:NXT) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as £112.55 ($145.41) and last traded at £110.55 ($142.83), with a volume of 714196 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at £110.85 ($143.22).

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

NEXT Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 9,893.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 9,880. The firm has a market capitalization of £13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 76.08, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.68.

NEXT (LON:NXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 27th. The company reported GBX 615.10 ($7.95) EPS for the quarter. NEXT had a net margin of 13.77% and a return on equity of 55.99%. Sell-side analysts forecast that NEXT plc will post 660.7526882 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NEXT Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 17th will be given a dividend of GBX 208 ($2.69) per share. This is a boost from NEXT’s previous dividend of $75.00. This represents a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 17th. NEXT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.49%.

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.