London’s FTSE 100 was flat at 7,457.19 in afternoon trade on Thursday as investors weighed better-than-expected retail sales data against ongoing concerns about the coronavirus. Smith & Nephew was the standout gainer as the artificial hip and knee maker said full-year revenue grew 4.4%, at the top end of the …
Read More »FTSE 250 movers: Moneysupermarket extends rally, Hochschild tracks seven-year high in gold
Shareholders in Moneysupermarket.com were ‘in the money’ on Thursday after the price comparison website said that its full-year pre-tax profit rose to £116m from £106.9m in 2018, thanks to strong showings from both its home services and insurance units. So with basic earnings per share ahead by 9% to 17.7p, …
Read More »Broker tips: Royal Mail, Berkeley Group, Plus 500
Royal Mail was under pressure on Wednesday as Liberum reiterated its ‘sell’ rating on the stock and slashed the price target to 120p from 175p, arguing that the company’s strategy is undeliverable. The broker said the fact that management openly questioned the achievability of its 2024 targets just nine months …
Read More »FTSE 250 movers: Hochschild shines on results; Plus500 retreats
London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.6% at 21,817.41 in afternoon trade on Wednesday. South America-focused miner Hochschild Mining surged to the top of the index as it said higher precious metals prices helped it to double annual profits. The company said pre-tax profits rose to $76.8m from $38.4m on a …
Read More »Royal Mail strategy is ‘undeliverable’, says Liberum
Royal Mail was under pressure on Wednesday as Liberum reiterated its ‘sell’ rating on the stock and slashed the price target to 120p from 175p, arguing that the company’s strategy is undeliverable. The broker said the fact that management openly questioned the achievability of its 2024 targets just nine months …
Read More »Canaccord Genuity hikes target for Intermediate Capital Group
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity hiked their target price for shares of Intermediate Capital Group after revising their earnings estimates for the alternative asset manager fir the next three years higher. The main reason for the target price change was the higher price-to-earnings multiple now assigned by the broker to the …
Read More »Directors deals: Barratt Developments COO sells shares near record highs
Barratt Developments‘s chief operating officer and “persons closely associated” with him sold a large batch of shares in the homebuilder roughly a fortnight after they broke out into record territory. On 12 February, Steven Boyes sold 116,090 shares and Andrea Boyes sold 288,910 shares, both at 842.0p apiece. That same …
Read More »Director dealings: Midwich MD makes share purchase
Fenby, who took over as MD at Midwich back in 2010, bought the shares on Friday at an average price of 500.0p each, for a total transaction value of £1,000,000. Midwich chairman Andrew Herbert’s wife Sharon also snapped up 3,000 ordinary shares in the firm. As of 1635 GMT, Midwich …
Read More »Broker tips: Hargreaves Lansdown, Royal Mail, Vodafone
The first quarter of 2020 is “make or break” for Hargreaves Lansdown as investors examine whether weak inflows are the result of temporary factors or increased competition, Berenberg said as the broker cut its price target on the company’s shares. Keeping their ‘hold’ rating on the stock the Berenberg analysts …
Read More »Bernstein downgrades Royal Mail to ‘underperform’
“Things will get worse before they get better,” the bank said, adding that the current cash flow trajectory implies a cash crunch, with dividends and capex outpacing cash generation by around £200m. Bernstein said management will have to choose between restarting the transformation, cutting the dividend, or increasing borrowing. “The …
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