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How to buy WH Smith shares | 963.5p
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WH Smith PLC (SMWH) is a leading specialty retail business based in the UK. It opened the day at 1006p after a previous close of 1001p. During the day the price has varied from a low of 960p to a high of 1006p. The latest price was 963.5p (25 minute delay). WH Smith is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and employs 13,024 staff. All prices are listed in pence sterling.
How to buy shares in WH 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: SMWH in this case.
- Research WH Smith shares. The platform should provide the latest information available.
- Buy your WH Smith shares. It's that simple.
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What's in this guide?
- Can I buy shares in WH Smith?
- Has coronavirus impacted WH Smith shares?
- WH Smith shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is WH Smith stock a buy or sell?
- WH Smith performance over time
- Are WH Smith shares over-valued?
- WH Smith's financials
- How volatile are WH Smith shares?
- Does WH Smith pay a dividend?
- Have WH Smith shares ever split?
- Other common questions
How has Coronavirus impacted WH Smith's share price?
Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, WH Smith's share price has had significant negative movement.
Its last market close was 943p, which is 60.71% down on its pre-crash value of 2400p and 61.46% up on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as 584.0438p.
If you had bought £1,000 worth of WH Smith shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth £381.52 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 £391.91.
WH Smith share price
Use our graph to track the performance of SMWH stocks over time.WH Smith shares at a glance
Information last updated 2020-09-29.
| Open | 1006p |
|---|---|
| High | 1006p |
| Low | 960p |
| Close | 963.5p |
| Previous close | 1001p |
| Change | -37.5p |
| Change % | -3.746% |
| Volume | 205,699 |
Information last updated 2020-10-20.
| 52-week range | 584.0438p - 2660p |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | 1061.2428p |
| 200-day moving average | 1066.5709p |
| Wall St. target price | 2135p |
| PE ratio | 11.19 |
| Dividend yield | 0.82p (6.9%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | 91.4p |
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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. Capital is at risk.
Is it a good time to buy WH Smith stock?
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. Capital is 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.
WH Smith price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the last close of 963.5p
| 1 week (2020-10-14) | -2.68% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2020-09-22) | -3.12% |
| 3 months (2020-07-21) | -8.33% |
| 6 months (2020-04-21) | -9.27% |
| 1 year (2019-10-21) | -57.63% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2018-10-19) | -45.69% |
| 3 years (2017-10-20) | -53.02% |
| 5 years (2015-10-21) | -42.27% |
Is WH Smith under- or over-valued?
Valuing WH Smith stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of WH Smith's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
WH Smith's P/E ratio
WH 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 11x. In other words, WH Smith shares trade at around 11x 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.
WH Smith's EBITDA
WH Smith's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is £213 million.
The EBITDA is a measure of a WH Smith's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
WH Smith financials
| Revenue TTM | £1.4 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 11.46% |
| Gross profit TTM | £845 million |
| Return on assets TTM | 8.92% |
| Return on equity TTM | 38.25% |
| Profit margin | 7.04% |
| Book value | 3.15p |
| Market capitalisation | £1.3 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
WH Smith share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 4505.49% of net profits
Recently WH Smith has paid out, on average, around 4505.49% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 6.9% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), WH Smith shareholders could enjoy a 6.9% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In WH Smith's case, that would currently equate to about 0.82p per share.
WH 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 9 January 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").
Have WH Smith's shares ever split?
WH Smith's shares were split on a 67:74 basis on 22 February 2008. So if you had owned 74 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 67 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your WH Smith shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 10.4% higher share price could have impacted the market appetite for WH Smith shares which in turn could have impacted WH Smith's share price.
WH Smith share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, WH Smith's shares have ranged in value from as little as 584.0438p up to 2660p. 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 WH Smith's is 1.351. This would suggest that WH Smith's shares are more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).
WH Smith overview
WH Smith PLC operates as a retailer in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in two segments, Travel and High Street. The Travel segment offers news, books, and convenience for travelling customers. As of August 31, 2019, it operated 1,019 units primarily in airports, hospitals, railway stations, motorway service areas, and workplaces. The High Street segment sells stationery products, including greetings cards, general stationery, art and craft, and gifting products; news and impulse products, such as newspapers, magazines, confectionery, and drinks; and books. It operated 576 stores. This segment also offers its stationery, books, magazines, and gifts through whsmith.co.uk; personalized greetings cards and gifts through funkypigeon.com and funkypigeon.ie; pens through cultpens.com; and personalized stationery products through treeofhearts.co.uk and dottyaboutpaper.co.uk Websites. The company was founded in 1792 and is based in Swindon, the United Kingdom.
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