NEXT plc (LON:NXT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of NEXT plc (LON:NXT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is £142.26.

Several research firms have weighed in on NXT. Shore Capital Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NEXT in a research note on Thursday. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a £180 target price on shares of NEXT in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of NEXT in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a £140 price objective on shares of NEXT in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a £152 price objective on shares of NEXT in a research report on Wednesday.

Key NEXT News

Here are the key news stories impacting NEXT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berenberg reaffirmed its “buy” rating and set a £180 price target — a clear vote of confidence that supports upside potential. Berenberg rating / TickerReport
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a “buy” rating on NEXT, reinforcing broker support from another major house. UBS reiterates buy / AmericanBankingNews
• Positive Sentiment: Shore Capital also reaffirmed a “buy” rating — multiple broker confirmations increase the credibility of consensus bullish views. Shore Capital rating / Digital Look
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results showed a strong quarter: GBX 760.10 EPS, net margin 12.28% and ROE 35.14% — fundamentals that typically support the share price. NEXT quarterly results / MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Two unrelated “NXT” wrestling items appeared in feeds (MSN); they are noise and unlikely to affect Next plc’s stock. Wrestling NXT article 1 / MSN
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional WWE NXT preview article — unrelated to the company. Wrestling NXT article 2 / MSN
• Negative Sentiment: Despite positives, selling pressure appears driven by technicals and liquidity: the share price is below both its 50-day (£130.07) and 200-day (£132.37) moving averages, trading volume is well below average, and investors may be trimming positions after the strong EPS print. Valuation signals (PEG ~5.7) and a high reported debt-to-equity (117.05) could also be weighing on sentiment.

NEXT Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NXT opened at £123.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is £129.78 and its 200 day moving average price is £132.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 72.70. The stock has a market capitalization of £14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.13. NEXT has a 1-year low of £105.90 and a 1-year high of £146.40.

NEXT (LON:NXT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported GBX 760.10 earnings per share for the quarter. NEXT had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 52.86%. Analysts expect that NEXT will post 660.7526882 earnings per share for the current year.

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. The company’s main divisions are NEXT Online, NEXT Retail and NEXT Finance. We also launched Total Platform, an online, distribution, tech and logistics solution, in 2020.