DS Smith Plc (SMDS) is a leading packaging and containers business based in the UK. It opened the day at 425.8p after a previous close of 422.5p. During the day the price has varied from a low of 424.6p to a high of 429p. The latest price was 427.2p (25 minute delay). DS Smith is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and employs 28,864 staff. All prices are listed in pence sterling.
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Since the stock market crash that started in February 2020, DS Smith's share price has had significant positive movement.
Its last market close was 377.5p, which is 5.70% up on its pre-crash value of 356p and 54.21% up on the lowest point reached during the March 2020 crash when the shares fell as low as 244.8p.
If you had bought £1,000 worth of DS Smith shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth £777.73 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth £1,092.64.
| Open | 425.8p |
|---|---|
| High | 429p |
| Low | 424.6p |
| Close | 427.2p |
| Previous close | 422.5p |
| Change | 4.7p |
| Change % | 1.1124% |
| Volume | 3,722,540 |
| 52-week range | 355.4927p - 465.8753p |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | 383.882p |
| 200-day moving average | 411.6925p |
| Wall St. target price | 467.58p |
| PE ratio | 21.3784 |
| Dividend yield | 12.9p (3.28%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | 18.5p |
Other fees apply. Your capital is at risk.
Share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs presented here should be considered as a guide only. They do not incorporate stamp duty. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing – which may differ from our information.
| Platform | Platform fee | Min. initial deposit | Trading fee estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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£0 | $10 | £0.00 £427.20 total |
Capital at risk |
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£0 | £0.01 | £1.81 £429.01 total |
Capital at risk |
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£0 | £250 | £8.00 £435.20 total |
Capital at risk |
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£0 | £1 | £11.95 £439.15 total |
Capital at risk |
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£9.99 per month | No minimum | £7.99 £435.19 total |
Capital at risk |
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£0 | No minimum | £0.00 £427.20 total |
Capital at risk |
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£36 per year | £20 | £9.50 £436.70 total |
Capital at risk |
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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.
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.
Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value.
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 21x. In other words, DS Smith shares trade at around 21x recent earnings.
That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the FTSE 250 at the end of September 2019 (19.71). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.
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 PEG ratio over 1 can be interpreted as meaning shares are overvalued at the current rate of growth, or may anticipate an acceleration in growth.
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 (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is £737.3 million.
The EBITDA is a measure of a DS Smith's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
| Revenue TTM | £6.4 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 6.25% |
| Gross profit TTM | £499.3 million |
| Return on assets TTM | 2.87% |
| Return on equity TTM | 6.75% |
| Profit margin | 3.95% |
| Book value | 2.708p |
| Market capitalisation | £5.4 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
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.
DS Smith's 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: 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: 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: 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: 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.
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 |
Dividend yield: 3.28% of stock value
Forward annual dividend yield: 3.28% of stock value
Dividend payout ratio: 67.22% of net profits
DS Smith has recently paid out dividends equivalent to 3.28% of its share value annually.
DS Smith has paid out, on average, around 67.22% of recent net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.28% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), shareholders could enjoy a 3.28% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In DS Smith's case, that would currently equate to about 12.9p 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 7 April 2022 (the "ex-dividend date").
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.
Over the last 12 months, DS Smith's shares have ranged in value from as little as 355.4927p up to 465.8753p. 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 1.1341. 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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