FTSE 250 movers: Aggreko and Lonmin lead stocks lower
24th Jul 2015 15:41
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 250 was in the red as investors digested disappointing trading updates from the likes of Aggreko and Lonmin. Aggreko was the top faller after the temporary power provider said its interim and full-year results are likely to miss market expectations due to ongoing security
Read moreBeazley shares lift on first-half pre-tax profits boost
24th Jul 2015 09:27
(ShareCast News) - Insurance company Beazley posted a 16.3% jump in first half net profit, driving its share price up. Shares in the FTSE 250 stock were up 2.18% to 327.50p after the company said pre-tax 30 June was $154.5m, up from $132.9m, surpassing market expectations. Beazley said growth was d
Read moreUBS starts Beazley at 'neutral', cuts Amlin to 'sell'
17th Jun 2015 13:09
UBS initiated coverage on Beazley with a 'neutral' rating and 310p target price and downgraded Amlin to 'sell' from 'neutral', cutting its price target to 440p from 460p. The Swiss broker noted that Beazley has established itself as one of the premium stocks in the sector in recent years, with a str
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Synergy Health plunges on Steris takeover speculation, energy stocks lower
27th May 2015 12:34
UK stocks rebounded from the previous session's sell-off as gains made by tobacco, electronics and utilities outweighed weakness in mining and industrial metals. As of 14:00, the FTSE 250 was trading points 101.1 points higher at 18,200. Synergy Health topped the fallers, plummeting almost 17% on r
Read moreLondon midday: Imperial and CRH lead the rebound before Queen's Speech
27th May 2015 11:39
Investors managed to take advantage of a quiet morning to push UK stocks higher on Wednesday following a sell-off the previous day. The FTSE 100 was up 0.57% at 6,988.37 by midday, with blue chips Imperial Tobacco and CRH leading the rise, along with a host of other construction and building materia
Read moreBroker tips: IAG, Weir, De La Rue, Taylor Wimpey, Insurers
27th May 2015 11:33
Credit Suisse has maintained its 'outperform' rating for airline conglomerate IAG after its proposed €1.4bn acquisition of Irish carrier Aer Lingus received the green light from the Irish government. The bank said that it continues to see the acquisition as "strategically positive" for IAG, whose st
Read moreLondon open: Stocks edge higher ahead of Queen's Speech, Imperial rises
27th May 2015 09:20
UK stocks rebounded slightly on Wednesday morning after a sharp sell-off the previous session, with investors awaiting the Queen's Speech on a quiet day in terms of economic and corporate news. The FTSE 100 was up 0.32% at 6,971.03 early on after dropping 1.18% on Tuesday to 6,948.99. Consumer conf
Read moreJPM upgrades Beazley and Hiscox to overweight
27th May 2015 08:08
JPMorgan Cazenove upgraded Beazley and Hiscox to 'overweight' from 'neutral' as it took a look at the Lloyd's insurers. "We believe the Lloyd's insurers will continue to re-rate, as in our view the compound benefit of their approach to capital is not yet being fully valued," said JPM. It said the s
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
27th May 2015 07:57
Beazley: JP Morgan upgrades to overweight from neutral and sets 308p target, up from 255p. Hiscox: JP Morgan upgrades to overweight from neutral and ups target to 950p from 801p. Lancashire Holdings: JP Morgan improves target price to 642p from 589p, stays at neutral. Dixons Carphone: Exane keeps
Read moreBeazley quarterly premiums up 6% but renewals fall
7th May 2015 08:34
London-listed insurer Beazley posted a 6% rise in premiums for the first quarter on Thursday, although premium rates on the renewal business fell by 1%. Gross premiums written rose to $546m from $516m in the same quarter last year. Chief executive officer Andrew Horton said: "We managed to offset t
Read moreSector movers: RSA, Jardine Lloyd Thompson and Direct Line drag non-life insurers lower
3rd Mar 2015 15:28
Non-life insurers were out of favour on Tuesday as a broker downgrade at RSA and a cool reaction to results from Jardine Lloyd Thompson and Direct Line weighed on sentiment. General insurer RSA was trading 2.7% lower after analysts at Bernstein lowered their rating on the stock from 'outperform' to
Read moreSector movers: RSA drags non-life insurers lower as results underwhelm
26th Feb 2015 15:14
Underwhelming results from RSA were weighing down on the non-life insurance sector on Thursday despite the FTSE 100 company swinging to a profit and recommencing its dividend payment. RSA, the third-largest insurer in the UK, reported a pre-tax profit of £275m for 2014, compared with a £244m loss th
Read moreFTSE 250 movers:Premier Farnell plummets on weak outlook, Rexam up on M&A interest
5th Feb 2015 14:57
Electronics group Premier Farnell sank after warning that its full-year operating profit for 2015 would be lower than in the previous 12 months. The company cited discounting of the credit-card sized computer Raspberry Pi and strategic initiatives as the main factors weighing on its gross margins, w
Read moreBroker tips: Astrazeneca, Compass, Beazley
5th Feb 2015 11:47
The Share Centre has rated Astrazeneca a 'hold' for medium-risk investors after fourth-quarter results from the drugmaker disappointed, saying that investors may have to wait to see material improvements in the top line. Analyst Helal Miah said: "The company is in a transition phase investing heavil
Read moreWesthouse puts Beazley's rating under review on tough outlook
5th Feb 2015 09:27
Annual results from insurer Beazley were more or less in line with expectations, according to Westhouse Securities, though the broker has placed its 'neutral' rating under review after recent gains in the stock. Pre-tax profits fell 16% over the year to $261.9m, slightly short of the $264m consensus
Read more