Thursday broker round-up
9th Apr 2015 11:58
Marks&Spencer: Cannacord Genuity reiterates hold and tweaks price target to 530p from 525p. Antofagasta: Credit Suisse reiterates neutral stance with a 710p target. BG Group: Citigroup reiterates buy and lifts target to 1,332p. Robert Walters: Credit Suisse reiterates outperform and improves targe
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Petrofac beats analysts' expectations, AO World and Supergroup drop
25th Feb 2015 14:21
Petrofac topped the risers as profits came in above analysts' expectations, albeit towards the bottom of the company's own guidance. Chief executive Ayman Asfari said the company was well positioned to deal with the oil industry's declining prices, as the group ended the year with a record-breaking
Read moreHays boosts dividend on strong corporate confidence
25th Feb 2015 08:15
Hays, the British staffing specialist, raised its dividend after it posted a 10% rise in underlying net fees on strong corporate confidence in all of its major markets. The recruitment specialist, which places workers in areas such as finance, construction and information technology, raised its divi
Read moreHays boosted by demand for permanent staff in UK, Europe and Asia
8th Jan 2015 08:17
Strong demand for permanent staff in the UK, Asia and Europe saw recruitment group Hays post an 11% increase in underlying second-quarter fees. The firm, which specialises in placing workers in the finance, IT and construction industry, said net fees for permanent job placements rose 16% on a like-f
Read moreMonday broker round-up
15th Dec 2014 09:29
Ashtead Group: Berenberg raises target price from 1170p to 1345p and keeps its 'buy' recommendation. Aviva: Citi increases target price from 590p to 620p and maintains a 'buy' recommendation. Bellway: Deutsche Bank ups target price from 1760p to 1778p and reiterates its 'hold' recommendation. Berk
Read moreLondon pre-open: Gains expected ahead of ECB meeting
4th Dec 2014 07:43
The FTSE is expected to open higher on Thursday morning amid expectations the European Central Bank (ECB) will take a step closer to full quantitative easing (QE) at its December meeting. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 16 points higher than yesterday's close of 6,716.63. Preside
Read moreHays purchases 80% stake in Veredus
4th Dec 2014 07:04
Recruitment company Hays has acquired an 80% stake of US IT staffing firm Veredus for £28m on a cash-free basis. The purchase will be fully funded from existing debt facilities and Hays has the option, which will be available for exercise in March 2018, to acquire the remaining 20% from the selling
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Germany, Energy, Oil
9th Oct 2014 19:03
The Eurozone is showing the symptoms of Japan's longstanding economic issues and needs to adopt measures to avert the threat of recession, the Guardian reported on Friday. Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, warned there was a "serious risk" of a recession in the Eurozone
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Miners lead upside as N Brown brings up the rear
9th Oct 2014 16:12
As on the top tier, mining stocks moved higher as a weaker dollar prompted a jump in gold and silver prices. Recruitment firm Hays has made a "good start" to the new financial year with like-for-like (LFL) net fees up 9% in the first quarter. Fees from temporary positions increased by 7% on a LFL ba
Read moreHays sees growth across the board in first quarter
9th Oct 2014 08:02
Recruitment firm Hays has made a "good start" to the new financial year with like-for-like (LFL) net fees up 9% in the first quarter. Fees from temporary positions increased by 7% on a LFL basis in the three months to 30 September, while permanent fees rose 12%. The company said every region delive
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Hays leads ahead of Q1 results
6th Oct 2014 14:34
Hays was rising ahead of its first-quarter results due out on Friday, which come after its chief in August said he felt confident that the company could reach its target of doubling operating profits to £250m. Just Retirement was lifted by Deutsche Bank, which upped its rating on the stock from 'hol
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
29th Aug 2014 10:58
Arrow Global: Numis shifts target price from 285p to 287p and leaves its add rating unchanged. Berendsen: Oriel raises target price from 1130p to 1243p keeping a buy recommendation. British Polythene Industries: Investec ups target price from 720p to 750p reiterating a buy recommendation. bwin.pa
Read moreHays ahead of schedule for operating profit target
28th Aug 2014 10:05
Recruiter Hays reported a 20% rise in full-year operating profits, which put it ahead of its schedule to double the figure by 2018. Strong, broad-based net fee growth was reported in both the UK and Ireland, which drove regional net fees 11% higher and helped lift group operating profit 12% to £14
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
18th Jul 2014 07:55
Barclays: Credit Suisse cuts target price from 275p to 235p retaining a neutral rating. Barratt Developments: Liberum Capital reduces target price from 468p to 387p and downgrades to hold. Bellway: Liberum Capital reduces target price from 1900p to 1764p, while leaving its buy recommendation uncha
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: AVEVA, Recruitment stocks
15th Jul 2014 07:37
'Hold' shares of engineering software group AVEVA for the long term, recommended the Tempus column in The Times on Tuesday. While AVEVA is seen by analysts as a "world-class British company with a leading position in its core business", the market has fallen out of love with the stock, according to
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