Sales growth to come in smaller portions at Compass
27th Mar 2012 07:15
Contract caterer Compass maintained its full year guidance despite admitting that like-for-like (LFL) sales growth in the first half of its financial year is likely to be slower than that seen in the corresponding period a year earlier. The group said the slow-down in LFL sales growth could largely
Read moreTuesday preview: Wolseley, Compass
26th Mar 2012 19:19
Having expanded rapidly prior to the recession in the last decade, plumbers' merchant Wolseley has spent the last few years slimming down again and slashing its debt mountain, but it seems to be on an even keel again now. The firm releases interim results on Tuesday and broker Charles Stanley is pr
Read moreBroker tips: Legal&General, IMI, Compass
15th Mar 2012 12:33
Nomura has today raised its target price on Legal&General to 182p from 180p, adding that they continue to be buyers. They begin their research note by calling attention to the success of its so-called ´capital-light strategy´ at growing its asset management and unit-linked savings business, which
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse ups target on Compass
15th Mar 2012 11:44
Credit Suisse has this morning decided to raise its price target on shares of food and support services firm Compass. The above due to both cyclical and structural factors. As regards the former, these analysts highlight the fact that, "cyclical trends are encouraging especially in the US with hour
Read moreCompass gets approval for South African purchase
8th Mar 2012 07:18
Compass Group, the catering and services firm, has won approval for its acquisition of South African cleaning company Supercare Services. The deal was announced in November but needed regulatory approval from the South African authorities for completion. Compass shares have done well in the last 1
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Meggitt dives on gloomy outlook
6th Mar 2012 14:53
Meggitt, the engineering company focused on the aerospace, defence and energy markets, fell after warning investors that the outlook for defence expenditure in the US, its single most important military market, continues to be challenging in the medium term, given the requirement for the administrat
Read moreLondon pre-open: Slight drop predicted for FTSE opening
6th Mar 2012 07:39
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down five points from yesterday's close of 5,875, as concerns over China's economy linger on and positive US data fails to boost investor sentiment. Worth noting, today's Financial Times Deutschland is running an article entitled "Troika is preparing for
Read moreCompass buys Japanese care home caterer
6th Mar 2012 07:12
Acquisition-hungry caterer Compass is at it again, buying another company, this time in Japan. It has gobbled up NKS Kabushiki Kaisha and associated companies a provider of food services, primarily to the healthcare sector, in Japan. The business is based in Tokyo, operating around 200 units with o
Read moreCompass completes acquisition
6th Feb 2012 07:43
Compass, the food and support services firm, has announced the completion of its acquisition of foodservices provider DORA Gastro through its subsidiary Eurest, following clearance from the Office for the Protection of Competition in the Czech Republic. For the year ending December 31st 2010, DORA
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie flat despite mining strength, Xstrata surges
2nd Feb 2012 12:03
- Xstrata/Glencore surge on merger talks. - Mining strength outweighed by Astra, Unilever, Shell. - China considering increasing involvement in Eurozone rescue. The Footsie was broadly flat by lunchtime as poorly-received results from some big hitters outweighed strength in the mining sector. Mark
Read moreThursday broker round-up
2nd Feb 2012 09:15
AstraZeneca: Panmure Gordon maintains buy rating and 3,600p target. Imperial Tobacco: Nomura upgrades from reduce to neutral, 2,150p target unchanged. Compass Group: Panmure Gordon maintains buy rating and 675p target. Smith & Nephew: Panmure Gordon reiterates buy stance and 640p target. Unileve
Read moreLondon open: Stocks pull back but Xstrata soars
2nd Feb 2012 08:35
Stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday, pulling back from the +100 point gain for the Footsie yesterday as markets celebrated positive global macroeconomic data with manufacturing indices in the UK, Eurozone, US and China all showing an improvement in January. In other news, ratings agency Standa
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to open slightly higher
2nd Feb 2012 07:45
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open slightly higher, up 14 points from yesterday's close of 5,791, following strong gains in late trading on Wednesday. Fourth quarter sales at medical devices maker Smith and Nephew came in a touch shy of market expectations, but showed a modest improvemen
Read moreSolid start for Compass as organic revenues rise 4% - UPDATE
2nd Feb 2012 07:02
Food and support services firm Compass says that it has had a good first quarter and its expectations for the full-year remain unchanged, despite experiencing a continuing challenging macroeconomic environment in Europe. The group said that like-for-like volumes in North America and the Fast Growi
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
24th Jan 2012 09:09
Ashmore: Royal Bank of Scotland downgrades to hold from buy. Hargreaves Lansdown: Royal Bank of Scotland downgrades to sell from hold. Weir: Goldman Sachs reiterates buy. Vedanta Resources: HSBC cuts target price to 1,320p from 2,110p; Credit Suisse keeps neutral stance and 1,400p target. Pear
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