How to buy Tesco shares | 219.8p

Tesco PLC (TSCO) is a leading grocery stores business based in the UK. It opened the day at 223.3p after a previous close of 224p. During the day the price has varied from a low of 219p to a high of 223.9p. The latest price was 219.8p (25 minute delay). Tesco is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and employs 405,506 staff. All prices are listed in pence sterling.

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Tesco share price

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Fees for buying 100x Tesco shares with popular platforms

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
	£0	No minimum	£2.95 £222.75 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	$200	£0.00 £219.80 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	£0.01	£1.78 £221.58 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	£1	£11.95 £231.75 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£9.99 per month	No minimum	£7.99 £227.79 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	£20	£12.50 £232.30 total	Read review Capital at risk

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Is it a good time to buy Tesco 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 Tesco under- or over-valued?

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.

P/E ratio

Tesco's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 15x. In other words, Tesco shares trade at around 15x 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.

However, Tesco's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the grocery stores industry or those of similar companies.

• Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW.LSE): 15.58
• J Sainsbury (SBRY.LSE): 34.84
• Walmart (WMT.US): 27.39

PEG ratio

Tesco's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 8.9059. 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 Tesco's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

However, it's sensible to consider Tesco's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.

• Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW.LSE): 6.38
• J Sainsbury (SBRY.LSE): 1.23
• Walmart (WMT.US): 3.82

EBITDA

Tesco's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping £4 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Tesco's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.

• Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW.LSE): £952 million
• J Sainsbury (SBRY.LSE): £1.7 billion
• Walmart (WMT.US): USD$34.1 billion

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 Tesco.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Total ESG risk score

Tesco's total ESG risk: 16.54

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Tesco's overall score of 16.54 (as at 01/01/2019) is excellent – landing it in it in the 15th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Tesco 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.).

To gain some more context, you can compare Tesco's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.

• Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW.LSE): 24.38
• J Sainsbury (SBRY.LSE): 21.82
• Walmart (WMT.US): 33.72

Environmental score

Tesco's environmental score: 1.36/100

Social score

Tesco's social score: 5.97/100

Governance score

Tesco's governance score: 3.72/100

Controversy score

Tesco's controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, Tesco scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Tesco hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.

Wondering how that compares? Below are the controversy scores of similar companies.

• Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW.LSE): 2
• J Sainsbury (SBRY.LSE): 2
• Walmart (WMT.US): 4

Tesco share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 63216.67% of net profits

Recently Tesco has paid out, on average, around 63216.67% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 5.41% 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 5.41% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Tesco's case, that would currently equate to about 0.123p per share.

Tesco'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 15 February 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

Tesco's dividend payout ratio is perhaps best considered in relation to those of similar companies.

• Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW.LSE): 36,266.67%
• J Sainsbury (SBRY.LSE): 0.00% (does not pay dividend)
• Walmart (WMT.US): 39.67%

Have Tesco's shares ever split?

Tesco's shares were split on a 15:19 basis on 15 February 2021. So if you had owned 19 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 15 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Tesco shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 26.7% higher share price could have impacted the market appetite for Tesco shares which in turn could have impacted Tesco's share price.

Share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Tesco's shares have ranged in value from as little as 205.9231p up to 264.4855p. 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 Tesco's is 0.4824. This would suggest that Tesco's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

To put Tesco's beta into context you can compare it against those of similar companies.

• Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW.LSE): 0.5117
• J Sainsbury (SBRY.LSE): 0.3882
• Walmart (WMT.US): 0.4829

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What stock exchanges is Tesco listed on?

In this guide, we've focused on Tesco's London Stock Exchange (LSE) listing. However, Tesco shares can be traded on multiple exchanges.

Frequently asked questions

• Does Tesco offer shares for staff?

  Yes, Tesco employees in the UK and Ireland can buy Tesco shares as part of the company's Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme. This scheme lets Tesco staff save money and then buy shares in Tesco at a discount price each year. Employees that join the scheme have a nominated amount taken out of their pay, which is then put into a SAYE account held by Barclays. At the end of the saving period (either 3 or 5 years), staff can then choose to buy Tesco shares at a discounted rate, known as the option price. Staff also have the option to withdraw the money at any time. Employees can access and apply for the share scheme via the ESP portal. Applications generally open in October and close in November each year.

• Is now a good time to buy shares in Tesco?

  The Tesco share price has been very volatile in recent weeks, but has rebounded from its drop as a result of the coronavirus stock market crash. According to investing publications like IG and the Motley Fool, now may be a good time to buy Tesco shares as consumer demand for groceries has risen sharply as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. HSBC analysts also recently upgraded Tesco's stock rating from a "hold" to "buy" based on the market's belief that the company will perform well in 2020.

• What percentage of Tesco is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 2.257% of Tesco shares are held by insiders and 63.355% by institutions.

• How many people work for Tesco?

  Latest data suggests 405,506 work at Tesco.

• When does the fiscal year end for Tesco?

  Tesco's fiscal year ends in February.

• Where is Tesco based?

  Tesco's address is: Tesco House, Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom, AL7 1GA

• What is Tesco's ISIN number?

  Tesco's international securities identification number is: GB0008847096