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How to buy DS Smith shares
Own DS Smith shares in just a few minutes. Share price changes are updated daily.
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DS Smith Plc (SMDS) is a leading packaging & containers business based in the UK. DS Smith is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and employs 30,000 staff. All prices are listed in pence sterling.
How to buy shares in DS Smith
- Choose a platform. If you're a beginner, our share-dealing table below can help you choose.
- Open your account. You'll need your ID, bank details and national insurance number.
- Confirm your payment details. You'll need to fund your account with a bank transfer, debit card or credit card.
- Search the platform for stock code: SMDS in this case.
- Research DS Smith shares. The platform should provide the latest information available.
- Buy your DS Smith shares. It's that simple.
What's in this guide?
- Can I buy shares in DS Smith?
- DS Smith shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is DS Smith stock a buy or sell?
- Is DS Smith suitable for ethical investing?
- Are DS Smith shares over-valued?
- DS Smith's financials
- How volatile are DS Smith shares?
- Does DS Smith pay a dividend?
- Have DS Smith shares ever split?
- Other common questions
DS Smith share price
Use our graph to track the performance of SMDS stocks over time.DS Smith shares at a glance
Information last updated 2021-01-23.
| 52-week range | 240.2729p - 411.2p |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | 382.4939p |
| 200-day moving average | 313.0695p |
| Wall St. target price | 497.76p |
| PE ratio | 12.2885 |
| Dividend yield | 0.04p (1.04%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | 31.2p |
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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
Is it a good time to buy DS Smith stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Is DS Smith under- or over-valued?
Valuing DS Smith stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of DS Smith's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
DS Smith's P/E ratio
DS Smith's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 12x. In other words, DS Smith shares trade at around 12x recent earnings.
That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the FTSE 250 at the end of September 2019 (19.71). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.
DS Smith's PEG ratio
DS Smith's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.18. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into DS Smith's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
DS Smith's EBITDA
DS Smith's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is £769 million.
The EBITDA is a measure of a DS Smith's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
DS Smith financials
| Revenue TTM | £5.7 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 6.84% |
| Gross profit TTM | £660 million |
| Return on assets TTM | 2.84% |
| Return on equity TTM | 6% |
| Profit margin | 7.49% |
| Book value | 2.539p |
| Market capitalisation | £5.3 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
DS Smith's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like DS Smith.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
DS Smith's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 14.88
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and DS Smith's overall score of 14.88 (as at 01/01/2019) is excellent – landing it in it in the 10th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like DS Smith is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
DS Smith's environmental score
Environmental score: 10.26/100
DS Smith's environmental score of 10.26 puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that DS Smith is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
DS Smith's social score
Social score: 1.86/100
DS Smith's social score of 1.86 puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that DS Smith is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
DS Smith's governance score
Governance score: 3.76/100
DS Smith's governance score puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that DS Smith is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
DS Smith's controversy score
Controversy score: 2/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, DS Smith scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that DS Smith has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
DS Smith Plc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.
| Total ESG score | 14.88 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 9.98 |
| Environmental score | 10.26 |
| Environmental score percentile | 3 |
| Social score | 1.86 |
| Social score percentile | 3 |
| Governance score | 3.76 |
| Governance score percentile | 3 |
| Level of controversy | 2 |
DS Smith share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 3857.14% of net profits
Recently DS Smith has paid out, on average, around 3857.14% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 1.04% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), DS Smith shareholders could enjoy a 1.04% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In DS Smith's case, that would currently equate to about 0.04p per share.
DS Smith's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.
The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 8 April 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").
Have DS Smith's shares ever split?
DS Smith's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 7 November 1995. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your DS Smith shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for DS Smith shares which in turn could have impacted DS Smith's share price.
DS Smith share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, DS Smith's shares have ranged in value from as little as 240.2729p up to 411.2p. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (LSE average) beta is 1, while DS Smith's is 1.0296. This would suggest that DS Smith's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).
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DS Smith overview
DS Smith Plc designs and manufactures corrugated packaging and plastic packaging for consumer goods. The company offers transit and transport, consumer, retail and shelf ready, online and e-retail, industrial, hazardous, multi-material, inserts and cushioning, and electrostatic discharge packaging products, as well as wrap arounds, trays, and bag-in-boxes; displays and promotional packaging products; corrugated pallets; Sheetfeeding products; packaging machine systems; and Sizzlepak, a stuffing material made of paper, folded in a zigzag shape, and cut into narrow strips, as well as provides packaging consultancy services. It also provides various recycling and waste management services, including total waste management, paper and cardboard recycling, confidential shredding, plastics recycling, and zero waste solutions, as well as equipment for the retail, manufacturing, print and publishing, paper mills, automotive, and public sectors. In addition, the company offers recycled corrugated case materials and specialty papers, as well as related technical and supply chain services; and manufactures and sells flexible packaging and dispensing solutions, rigid packaging solutions, and foam and injection molded products for use in the beverage, automotive, pharmaceutical, fresh produce, construction, and retail industries. It provides its packaging solutions for the food and drink, consumer goods, industrial, e-commerce and e-retail, and converter industries. The company has operations in the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Central Europe, Italy, North America, Germany, and Switzerland. The company was formerly known as David S. Smith (Holdings) PLC and changed its name to DS Smith Plc in 2001. DS Smith Plc was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
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