Berenberg Bank Upgrades Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) to “Buy”

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Berenberg Bank to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a GBX 415 price objective on the retailer’s stock, up from their prior price objective of GBX 412. Berenberg Bank’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.56% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Marks and Spencer Group from GBX 440 to GBX 450 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Shore Capital reiterated a “house stock” rating on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Marks and Spencer Group to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from GBX 375 to GBX 400 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 435 price target on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Peel Hunt reiterated a “hold” rating and set a GBX 360 price target on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 415.83.

Marks and Spencer Group Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of MKS stock opened at GBX 353 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.00. Marks and Spencer Group has a twelve month low of GBX 315.30 and a twelve month high of GBX 417.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 340.45 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 352.02. The stock has a market cap of £7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 392.22, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62.

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The retailer reported GBX 6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Marks and Spencer Group had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 17.23%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marks and Spencer Group will post 26.0113154 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Marks and Spencer Group

In other news, insider Sean Doyle acquired 2,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 334 per share, with a total value of £8,436.84. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Marks and Spencer Group

M&S has a heritage of quality, innovation and value for money and has been voted the UK’s most trusted brand. From these foundations, M&S is reshaping for sustainable profitable growth and value creation.

We operate as a family of businesses, selling high-quality, great-value, own-brand products and services, alongside a carefully selected range of third-party brands. We do this through a network of stores and websites globally, and together, across our stores, support centres, warehouses and supply chain, our 65,000 colleagues serve over 30 million customers each year.