9.1 At the close of share trading on 24 April 2015, investment ratios for Next plc, the UK fashion and home furnishings retailer, and the averages for the ‘general retailers’ section, were as follows:

Next plc General retailers section Dividend yield (%) 1.99 2.04 P/E ratio (times) 17.52 19.43 Dividend cover (times) 2.8 2.52 Required:
Comment on what can be deduced about Next plc, relative to the general retailers sector, from an equity investor’s point of view.