Spirit to beef up investment in managed estate
18th Apr 2012 15:40
Pubs group Spirit Pub Company said its managed boozers are outperforming the market, but the less sexy leased estate continues to see like-for-like sales decline, as expected by the management. Underlying profit before tax in the 28 weeks to March 3rd rose 7% to £20m from £18m at the interim stage
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
13th Mar 2012 09:59
AstraZeneca: Panmure Gordon keeps buy rating and 3,600p target. Bellway: Credit Suisse maintains outperform rating. BG Group: Nomura raises target from 1,865p to 1,950p, buy rating kept. Computacenter: Panmure Gordon ups target from 490p to 501p, buy rating unchanged. Hays: Credit Suisse ups tar
Read moreMonday broker round-up
12th Mar 2012 09:51
Aggreko: UBS ups target from 2,400p to 2,500p, buy rating unchanged. AMEC: Societe Generale upgrades from hold to buy, target hiked from 950p to 1,320p. Antofagasta: Oriel Securities downgrades from add to hold, target cut from 1,294p to 1,258p. Ark Therapeutics: Collins Stewart keeps buy recomme
Read moreSunday tips round-up: Gemfields, Old Mutual, JD Wetherspoon
11th Mar 2012 10:29
Precious stone miner Gemfields has embarked on an expansion plan which, to date, seems to be reaping good returns. Thus, Gemfields owns 75% of one of the world´s largest sources of emeralds, the Kagem mine in Zambia. Since its purchase three years ago the new management team has turned around the fo
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: LSE advances after winning LCH.Clearnet's hand
9th Mar 2012 13:07
The board of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the top brass at clearing house LCH.Clearnet have thrashed out the terms under which the clearer will become part of the LSE group, sending the latter's shares soaring. Dairy foods group Dairy Crest was another big riser, after announcing that it is
Read moreBroker tips: Old Mutual, BG Group, JD Wetherspoon
9th Mar 2012 11:31
Nomura has taken its first look at Old Mutual's results, saying that there were no surprises in the savings and insurance group's full-year statement. Adjusted operating profits of £1,614m were more or less in line with consensus estimates, "underlining the operational resilience of Old Mutual duri
Read moreBroker snap: Short-term disappointment at Wetherspoon, says Peel Hunt
9th Mar 2012 11:08
Peel Hunt has cut its target price for pubs group JD Wetherspoon from 490p to 440p, after first-half like-for-like (LFL) sales came in below expectations. LFL sales in six months ended January 22nd fell by 0.7%, compared with the broker's forecast of 2.5% growth, which it said was disappointing giv
Read moreFriday broker round-up
9th Mar 2012 10:00
ITV: Goldman Sachs raises price target to 137p from 102p, keeps at buy. Admiral: UBS hikes target from 890p to 1,085p, neutral rating unchanged. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch downgrades to underperform from neutral. AGA Rangemaster: Merchant Securities reiterates buy rating and 102p target. Ca
Read moreLondon open: Markets cautious after Greek bond-swap
9th Mar 2012 08:23
- 85.8 per cent of private creditors accept Greek bond-swap. - Miners on the fall, Fresnillo falls after downgrade. - Weir loses out to FLSmidth. It was a tentative start for the FTSE 100 on Friday as news of Greece receiving a high participation rate in its debt-swap deal underwhelmed investors wi
Read moreLondon pre-open: Muted initial reaction to Greek bond swap
9th Mar 2012 07:32
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up five points from yesterday's close of 5,859.73 after stocks already made strong gains in the previous session on reports that the Greek debt swap would be a success. Greece has announced that 85.8% of its private bondholders have decided to accept a "
Read moreWetherspoon's trading reverse prompts another rant
9th Mar 2012 07:06
Interim results from JD Wetherspoon left a bitter taste in shareholders' mouths as the fast growing pubs group revealed a surprise reverse in like-for-like (LFL) sales for the current year. Total sales in the six weeks to March 4th were up 6.1% on the corresponding period of 2011, but that number i
Read moreFriday preview: Aggreko, JD Wetherspoon, Marshalls
8th Mar 2012 15:45
Temporary power solutions provider Aggreko has been doing very well out of an increasing number of ever larger spectator events, such as the Olympics and the World Cup, but most of those seem to take place in even numbered years, so 2011 may not be a real bonanza year for the Scottish firm. Neverth
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
5th Mar 2012 09:03
Weir: Citi cuts to sell from neutral, shaves target to 1,850p from 1,950p. Morrison: Oriel downgrades to sell from reduce. Tesco: Oriel downgrades to reduce from hold. Sainsbury: Oriel downgrades to hold from add. Serco: Bank of America downgrades to neutral from buy. Afren: Credit Suisse rais
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
18th Jan 2012 09:32
BT Group: UBS downgrades from buy to neutral, target cut from 230p to 210p. Tullow Oil: finnCap retains sell rating and 1,000p target. Man Group: Peel Hunt keeps buy stance but puts 245p target under review. Vodafone: On UBS's most preferred telecoms list. Rio Tinto: UBS cuts target from 5,500p
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to open marginally lower
18th Jan 2012 07:25
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 5 points from yesterday's close of 5,693, ahead of today's unemployment rate announcement. It seems that yesterday's cheery mood - on the back of positive economic data from China, Germany and the US - was short-lived, as attention also turns to cruci
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