Capita wins £325m Co-Op Bank mortgage service outsourcing deal
11th Nov 2014 09:15
Capita has won a £325m 10-year mortgage servicing contract from The Co-operative Bank in a deal that will see it acquire the Co-op's Western Mortgage Services mortgage administration business. Co-op Bank, which has more than 250,000 mortgage customers and £23bn of lending, will, subject to approval
Read moreTuesday preview: CRH and Capita report interims
10th Nov 2014 15:07
Building materials group CRH on Tuesday reports its interim results amid a tough European market. Numis said anecdotal evidence from a number of companies, including Holcim, St Gobain, Wolseley and Nobia, suggests European activity has been "challenging in the third quarter with a relatively negativ
Read moreLondon midday: Mining stocks push FTSE 100 to five-week high, Serco drops
10th Nov 2014 11:27
UK stocks started the new trading week on the front foot with mining shares resilient despite some mixed economic data from China overnight. However, Serco was the standout mover with the FTSE 250 outsourcing stock losing as much as a third of its value after a profit warning and proposed rights iss
Read moreLondon open: Miners lift UK stocks higher, but Serco plummets
10th Nov 2014 08:33
UK stocks advanced on Monday morning, led by decent gains in the heavyweight mining sector despite some mixed trade figures from China. The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 6,594 in early deals after closing Friday's session at 6,567.24, its highest finish since 6 October. However, gains on the FTSE 250 were
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
5th Nov 2014 10:02
Associated British Foods: Exane raises target price from 3600p to 3700p, keeping its outperform rating. Citi reduces target price from 3200p to 3100p, while upgrading to buy. AVEVA: Liberum Capital reduces target price from 1500p to 1400p and keeps a hold recommendation. Investec reduces target pric
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
30th Oct 2014 08:36
Afren: Deutsche Bank cuts target price from 130p to 110p retaining its hold recommendation. Antofagasta: JP Morgan lowers target price from 760p to 755p and reiterates a neutral rating. Investec lowers target price from 717p to 704p and keeps a hold recommendation. Balfour Beatty: Jefferies cuts ta
Read moreLondon close: FTSE ends higher ahead of Fed meeting result
29th Oct 2014 16:40
Investors showed a degree of confidence in the Wednesday session as markets awaited the outcome of the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Steady gains were seen throughout much of the session, with a slight weakening towards the close, although the Footsie ultimately closed up 51.7
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: JP Morgan comments lift Intertek
29th Oct 2014 16:12
JP Morgan analysts Robert Plant, Chris Gallagher and Jolyon Wellington on Wednesday reiterated their 'overweight' recommendation on shares of testing services firm Intertek following a sales meeting with the company's chief executive officer, Wolfhart Hauser, on Tuesday afternoon. "It was an interes
Read moreInterserve secures UK probation contracts
29th Oct 2014 15:24
Support and construction company Interserve is the only UK-based company to have been named among the preferred bidders for the 21 rehabilitation services contracts by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The group was named as the preferred bidder for five of the contracts, covering Humberside, Lincolshi
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Capita, Spirent Communications
8th Oct 2014 19:07
Investors chasing returns and growth from outsourcer Capita have been ignoring one glaring warning sign, if not more. The company's return on capital has been tumbling for the past seven years. Capita has delivered growth in revenues and earnings in the last decade, pole-vaulting the shares fourfold
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, BP, Capita
5th Sep 2014 13:10
Berenberg has hiked its target price for Royal Bank of Scotland from 210p to 250p but has kept a 'sell' rating, saying that it remains "unconvinced on the core profitability of the franchise". In a research report on Friday, the broker said: "We believe the shares are expensive considering the legac
Read moreCapita acquires SouthWestern for £28m
14th Aug 2014 10:04
Outsourcing specialists Capita has acquired an Ireland-based outsourced management services firm for £28m in a bid to expand its presence in the Irish business market. Capita has purchased SouthWestern from private equity group Ion Equity. SouthWestern, a financial services group, which specialis
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Capita and United Utilities hit by Credit Suisse downgrades
1st Aug 2014 15:55
Capita and United Utilities were heavy fallers after Credit Suisse downgraded its rating on the stocks to 'neutral' and 'underperform', respectively. Schroders continued to move lower following Thursday's results, which saw the group warn that "the short-term outlook for retail investor demand is u
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, Tesco, Capita
1st Aug 2014 13:08
Investors should 'sell' shares of Royal Bank of Scotland following the bank's second-quarter results on Friday, according to Investec. The broker highlighted that RBS pre-released a better-than-expected set of second-quarter numbers last week, which sparked "wild euphoria and an 11% one-day spike".
Read moreCapita hit by Credit Suisse downgrade, stock "up with events"
1st Aug 2014 12:16
Credit Suisse has downgraded its rating for outsourcing group Capita from 'outperform' to 'neutral', saying that the stock is "up with events" after its recent interim results. Capita's 11% organic growth reported for the first half was strong and was well-received by the market, the bank said, but
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