Smiths Group plc (LON:SMIN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Smiths Group plc (LON:SMIN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 3,090.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Smiths Group from GBX 3,040 to GBX 2,830 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Smiths Group from GBX 2,900 to GBX 2,750 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Smiths Group from GBX 2,950 to GBX 3,040 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Smiths Group from GBX 3,500 to GBX 4,300 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Smiths Group Price Performance

Shares of Smiths Group stock traded down GBX 13 on Thursday, hitting GBX 2,468. 2,609,085 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,719,281. The stock has a market capitalization of £7.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 73.19, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 3.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 2,450.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 2,485.03. Smiths Group has a 52 week low of GBX 2,088 and a 52 week high of GBX 2,746.

Smiths Group (LON:SMIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The company reported GBX 62 earnings per share for the quarter. Smiths Group had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 11.39%. Research analysts expect that Smiths Group will post 85.1295337 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Smiths Group

In other Smiths Group news, insider Richard Howes acquired 70 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 2,532 per share, for a total transaction of £1,772.40. Also, insider Alister Cowan acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,268 per share, for a total transaction of £113,400. Insiders acquired a total of 5,276 shares of company stock worth $12,038,832 in the last quarter. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Smiths Group

Smiths Group plc operates as an industrial engineering company in Americas, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through four businesses: John Crane, Smiths Detection, Flex-Tek, and Smiths Interconnect. The John Crane business engineers mechanical seals, seal support systems, power transmission couplings, and specialized filtration systems. The Smiths Detection business provides sensors and systems that detect and identify explosives, narcotics, weapons, chemical agents, biohazards, and contraband.