Babcock chucking off cash
28th Sep 2011 07:48
Babcock International, the FTSE-250 engineering and support services firm, says it has been churning out cash in the first half of its financial year, which is doing wonders for its debt position. The company said it expects to see a further reduction in net debt at the half-year stage, and the com
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Lookers, Babcock, NCC...
8th Jul 2011 06:58
A consortium made a tentative approach for car dealer Lookers at 80p a share, sought due diligence, reckoned the company had a couple of issues that made it worth less than that and offered 70p, we learnt yesterday from Lookers. The company rejected this, and the consortium said it would not bid. Th
Read moreBroker tips: Booker, Babcock, McBride
7th Jul 2011 12:41
Singer Capital has upped its target price on Booker to 65p from 58p after a bullish update from the cash and carry group. Booker said it is on course to meet expectations for the year ending 30 March after seeing a sharp rise in sales in the first quarter. Total sales were up by 9.5% from the same
Read moreBroker snap: Panmure Gordon cuts Babcock to hold
7th Jul 2011 12:21
Panmure Gordon said that with less than a 10% upside to its target price of 780p for engineering support firm Babcock, it has moved its recommendation from buy to hold. Nevertheless, the broker said that the first quarter interim management statement confirmed that trading remains in line with expe
Read moreBabcock to shed VT's US defence ops
7th Jul 2011 07:33
Babcock, the FTSE-250 engineering support firm, says it will be looking at selling off the US Defence operations of its recent acquisition, VT Group. The news comes in an interim management statement ahead of Thursday's annual general meeting. The group also says that trading overall has been good
Read moreThursday preview: BoE rate decision, Babcock, Man Group
6th Jul 2011 16:46
The monthly meetings of the Bank of England´s monetary policy committee (MPC) are increasingly becoming non-events, with the results of the votes on interest rates and the asset purchase scheme both foregone conclusions. The market consensus is that the monetary authority will not announce any cha
Read moreWeek Ahead: Babcock International, BoE rate decision
1st Jul 2011 14:13
Engineering support services group Babcock International is expected to give a trading update at its annual general meeting on Thursday, and Panmure Gordon will be hoping for updates on the order pipeline and news relating to disposals. "News relating to disposals maybe given (notably its US assets
Read moreKate Swann buys first Babcock stake
14th Jun 2011 15:45
Kate Swann, the chief executive of newsagent chain WH Smith, has opened her account at Babcock International soon after joining the board of the engineering support services company. She spent nearly £35,000, taking 5,000 shares at 688p a time. Ahead of Swann's appointment, Babcock chairman Mike T
Read moreEnquest chief exec opens wallet
31st May 2011 16:06
Enquest chief executive Amjad Bseisu has splashed out more than £1.2m on shares in the FTSE 250-listed UK-focused oil and gas group. Double A , a trust in which his extended family has a beneficial interest, took 921,598 shares at 131.95p each. It now has more than 43m shares, more than 5% of the
Read moreTalkTalk non-exec spends £250,000
23rd May 2011 15:19
Non-executive director Ian West has spent £250,000 on shares in the fixed line voice and broadband telecommunications company TalkTalk, it announced today. He took 181,700 shares at 137.58p a pop, taking his holding to 346,023 shares. The shares are lower than when he last took a stake in the com
Read moreLondon close: Stocks fall back after poor US start
17th May 2011 16:43
Stocks were nursing substantial losses at the close of play after a poor start on Wall Street. Computer maker Hewlett-Packard sent a chill across the markets as it lowered its profits guidance. Chip-maker ARM Holdings was the heaviest faller here. India-focused energy firm Essar Energy led the ris
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Babcock rises on revenue growth
17th May 2011 15:45
Engineering support services group Babcock International was boosted after reporting that revenue during the year to 31 March was up by 50% and the full-year dividend would be raised by 10% to 19.4p. Peel Hunt kept a 'conviction buy' stance on the stock and raised the target price to 735p, from 675p
Read moreBroker tips: National Grid, Babcock, De La Rue
17th May 2011 12:39
While Nomura raises its estimates for power and gas grid operator National Grid (NG) ahead of the group's full-year results due on Thursday, the broker says that many positives are already priced in to the stock, and leaves its 'neutral' rating. The broker notes that NG has been a notable outperfo
Read moreBroker snap: Strong pipeline at Babcock
17th May 2011 12:32
With an accelerating pipeline, engineering support services group Babcock International has had its target price raised by Peel Hunt, who says the share remain a 'conviction buy'. "While FY2011 [fiscal year-ended 2011] profit before tax was 2% ahead of our expectations and debt 2% lower, the highli
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 little changed as updates impress
17th May 2011 12:13
The leading share index is flat now after winning back some early losses, with company updates helping to send stocks higher. India-focused energy firm Essar Energy leads the risers in the FTSE 100 after it reported a "solid operating performance" in the first quarter with total generation 10% high
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