Friday preview: Spectris and Close Brothers update on quarterly trading
19th May 2016 12:36
(ShareCast News) - Precision instruments maker Spectris will update the market on its first quarter trading on Friday after reporting soft full year results earlier in the year. The company in February posted a 17% decline in 2015 pre-tax profit to £141.6m, blaming faltering industrial activity in N
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
26th Apr 2016 13:09
(ShareCast News) - Premier Foods: Jefferies upgrades to buy with a 60p target. Aberdeen Asset Management: Citigroup downgrades to sell with a 265p target. Smiths Group: Jefferies keeps at buy with a target price of 1100p and Credit Suisse reiterates outperform with a target of 1275p. Close Brother
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
8th Mar 2016 14:42
(ShareCast News) - South32: HBSC upgrades to buy with a target price of 85p. Capital & Counties Properties: Exane BNP Paribas downgrades to underperform. 348P target. Admiral Group: Nomura upgrades to buy with a target price of 2325p. Millennium & Copthorne Hotels: Berenberg downgrades to sell wit
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: TalkTalk up after company admits security shortfalls
8th Mar 2016 14:01
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 250 was trending down in afternoon trading on Tuesday, after weak data from China fuelled global concerns about the economic health of the People's Republic. CLS Holdings led the risers, after it had its 'buy' rating restated by equities researchers at Panmure Gordon. The
Read moreClose Bros first half profit up despite more challenging markets
8th Mar 2016 07:19
(ShareCast News) - Specialist financial services group Close Brothers reported a rise in first half profit despite a more challenging market backdrop. For the six months to the end of January, adjusted operating profit was up 2% from the first half of 2015 to £111.2m. Adjusted basic earnings per sha
Read moreLondon pre-open: Burberry in fashion ahead of Carney testimony
8th Mar 2016 07:06
(ShareCast News) - Market sentiment took a hit overnight from weaker than expected trade numbers out of China ahead of what may be a key hearing from Bank of England governor Mark Carney and deputy governor Jon Cunliffe before the Treasury Select Committee on the financial costs and benefits of the
Read moreThursday newspaper share tips: Virgin Money, Challenger banks
3rd Mar 2016 16:40
(ShareCast News) - Homes are not always a safe repository of value, as property busts show, but at the moment they are the safest corner of the UK banking space. That was reflected yesterday in Virgin Money's full-year figures for return on tangible equity, which at 10.9% easily trumped those of the
Read moreClose Bros confident over full year despite difficult conditions
22nd Jan 2016 07:39
(ShareCast News) - Close Brothers' loan book rose 4.9% in the five months to the end of December to £6bn, reflecting growth across all of the group's lending businesses. However, assets under management fell to £9.4bn from £10.8bn at the end of July, which the company attributed to negative market m
Read moreBanking drives profits higher at Close Brothers
22nd Sep 2015 07:45
(ShareCast News) - Merchant banking group Close Brothers said full-year operating profit before tax rose to £219.9m from £188.8m. Attributable profit increased to £185.7m from £149.8m last time. Profit from continuing operations was up to £174.5m from £145.6m The group said it remains well position
Read moreChallenger banks reportedly request extension to Funding for Lending scheme
11th Sep 2015 12:52
(ShareCast News) - Challenger banks have reportedly requested an extension to the government's flagship industry funding scheme during a meeting at which they expressed their anger over Chancellor George Osborne's plans for an 8% Corporate Tax surcharge on profits of more than £25m. According to Sky
Read moreBroker tips: Regus, Home Retail, Close Brothers
25th Aug 2015 16:25
(ShareCast News) - Analysts at Investec upped their rating for Regus from 'hold' to 'buy' after the office space provider more than doubled its interim pre-tax profit. Shares in Regus were up by 8.43% to 271.20p at 1507 BST after the office provider said return on investment had improved to 23.1% fr
Read moreNumis upgrades Close Brothers Group despite market concerns
25th Aug 2015 13:52
(ShareCast News) - Analysts at Numis upgraded merchant bank Close Brothers Group to 'add' from 'hold' and said the bank was largely unaffected by market concerns such as rising US rates and weakness in China. Numis dropped its price target for the bank to 1540p from 1545p but said it upped its recom
Read moreRBC starts Close Brothers at 'sector perform'
29th Jun 2015 12:28
RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of Close Brothers at 'sector perform' with a 1,600p price target. The brokerage said a strong brand name and prudent management of the business have delivered consistent returns over the cycle. However, growth is moderating, said RBC. "The shares are trading a
Read moreLondon open: Vodafone, HSBC and miners lead UK stocks higher
22nd May 2015 08:41
UK stocks opened higher on Friday morning and were on track to hit a two-week high ahead of another busy day for economic data. The FTSE 100 was trading up 0.41% at 7,042.57 early on, helped by decent gains from blue chips Vodafone and HSBC and the heavyweight mining sector. The index has not close
Read moreClose Brothers benefits from renewed investor risk appetite and property loan demand
22nd May 2015 07:24
Merchant bank Close Brothers enjoyed a good third quarter's trading as investor risk appetite returned and its core banking division booked a solid performance. Demand for property, asset finance and a seasonal improvement in motor finance helped the core banking division retain a stable net interes
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