FTSE 250 movers: Hunting, Petrofac, Aldermore, OneSavings Bank

27th Aug 2015 15:57

(ShareCast News) - The oil patch was on fire on Thursday as crude futures jumped on both sides of the Atlantic in the wake a much stronger than expected reading on the rate of growth in US gross domestic product. As of 16:30 front month Brent crude futures were up by 6,14% on the ICE at $45.96 per barrel, propelling shares of Hunting, Premier Oil and Tullow Oil higher.Nonetheless, shares in Petrofac received an additional boost from analysts at Societe Generale. They upgraded their view on the shares to 'buy' from 'hold' on the heels of Schlumberger´s takeover of Cameron in the previous session.Profits at Aldermore Group more than doubled in the first six months of the year, rising by 109% to reach 44m pounds.Stock in Phoenix Group was lower after going ex-dividend.Broker Investec took its recommendation on shares of OneSavings Bank down a peg, downgrading the stock to 'hold' from 'buy'. "We think the sustainability of extraordinary levels of growth and returns had been underestimated by the market, but this "perceptions gap" has now (largely) been closed. Moreover, with one eye on the "overhang risk" presented by JC Flowers' 57% stake, we downgrade," its analysts said.