FTSE 250 Movers: Halfords upgraded to 'buy'
23rd Sep 2011 12:58
Halfords was heading up the FTSE 250 leaderboard after Oriel Securities changed its rating on the firm to "buy". The broker made the move despite revealing that the firm's trading update is likely to "breed lower consensus forecasts". In Oriel's view, however, the Halfords dividend is secure, which
Read moreBroker snap: Halfords' margins a concern for UBS
13th Sep 2011 12:04
Shares in Halfords were under the weather on Tuesday, after UBS downgraded its forecasts for the car and bike parts retailer on the back of gross margin concerns. "We downgrade or forecasts (-8%) and price target (-22%) based on our concern that continued weakness in consumer spending will put furt
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rally after strong start in US
11th Aug 2011 16:30
The volatile trading continued on Thursday as losses were turned into gains in London on the back of a rally on Wall Street. A steep rise was seen after midday erased earlier losses and helped the Footsie to finish near its highs for the day. Equities were on the rise in morning trade in New York a
Read moreLondon close: European hopes boost Footsie back to 5,900
21st Jul 2011 16:34
London equities rallied to a strong finish - recouping the losses experienced over the last week - on hopes of a solution to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. At midday, shares offset early losses as reports surfaced that Europe's leaders have agreed on a new aid package for Greece and an overh
Read moreBroker snap: Citi still confident in full-year numbers at Halfords
21st Jul 2011 16:14
Despite Halfords' first quarter sales coming in below Citi's forecasts, the US broker maintained its buy rating on the car and bike parts retailer, saying that it does not expect consensus estimates to change significantly on the back of the statement. Like-for-like (LFL) sales in the 13 week ended
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Halfords, Colt results disappoint
21st Jul 2011 15:41
A decline in revenue recorded by communications and information technology firm Colt and car parts and bike retailer Halfords disappointed investors but failed to sway the mid-cap stock index lower. Colt announced a 3.5% reduction in revenues in the first half of the year, mainly driven by a decli
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks give up gains ahead of summit
21st Jul 2011 12:03
This morning's bright start seems a distance memory, with stocks are deep in the red ahead of the EU summit on the sovereign debt crisis. Latest reports say Germany and France intend to let Greece default temporarily as part of a programme of buying back bonds. They have also ruled out bank levies.
Read moreHalfords struggling in economic headwinds
21st Jul 2011 09:02
Car parts and bike retailer Halfords has seen group sales rise 0.3% in the first quarter but like for like retail sales were down 1.1% . The most worrying figure for the company has been the performance of its Car Enhancement business, which saw sales down 10% on a like for like basis in the quarte
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Greece, M&A activity fuels optimism
29th Jun 2011 15:25
World markets rejoiced after the Greek parliament voted in favour of the much needed but highly controversial austerity plan in order to receive the fifth instalment of the bailout package, while closer to home, merger activity lifted the mid-cap stock index. Shares of Charter International sky roc
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Charter, Bodycote, Halfords...
21st Jun 2011 06:47
When Charter International put out a statement yesterday that, although one side of the business accounting for about a third of sales was doing really quite well, the rest had suffered a bit of a slowdown, almost a third of the company's market cap disappeared and the shares ended off 179p at 537¾p
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Retailers drop, JD leads the fallers
10th Jun 2011 14:14
Seven of the ten top fallers are from the retail sector, with JD Sports Fashion losing over 6%. The Tempus column in the Times this morning said that, while the sports apparel chain is a more robust business than most on the high street, "with the shares on less than nine times this year's earnings,
Read moreFriday tips round-up: IG Group, Pan African Resources, JD Sports...
10th Jun 2011 06:41
IG Group announced a management rejig and the closure of its sport-betting business yesterday along with its end-of-year trading statement. The moves signal a welcome decision to concentrate on the spread-betting company's core financial business and to expand it in new markets and make use of new t
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 rallies despite retail gloom
9th Jun 2011 16:31
Shares rallied in the afternoon after a good start on Wall Street where stocks won back some recent losses. Engineer Weir Group was the highest riser after its earnings estimates were lifted by RBC Capital Markets. There have also been reports today that two companies in China have been given fine
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Retailers take a hit as Home Retail dives
9th Jun 2011 15:58
Home Retail has taken a plunge after revealing an 8.1% fall in sales at its catalogue-based retailer Argos in the 13 weeks to 28 May. "Trading conditions, particularly at Argos, have proved to be more difficult and volatile than anticipated," chief executive Terry Duddy said. Retailing peers Dixon
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 unchanged despite retail slump
9th Jun 2011 12:14
Retailers are heavily under the cosh today after a raft of gloomy updates, but the top share index is little changed as investors await US jobs data due later in the afternoon. Ongoing difficulties at the catalogue-based retailer Argos continue to plague its owner Home Retail Group, which has annou
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