Broker snap: UBS downgrades Premier Foods to sell
14th Nov 2011 10:31
UBS has downgraded struggling food manufacturer Premier Foods from neutral to sell, saying it's "difficult to see a way back from here". The group announced last week that it had negotiated a deferral of the next financial covenant test from December to March and is in discussions with the banks to
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
14th Nov 2011 09:19
Barclays: Goldman Sachs cuts to sell from neutral. BG Group: Evolution Securities keeps buy recommendation and 1,800p target. BG Group: Nomura maintains buy and 1,750p target. ITV: Peel Hunt retains buy and 73p target. ITV: Investec maintains hold rating and 55p target. Cairn Energy: UBS cuts
Read moreLondon close: Italian vote drives late surge
11th Nov 2011 16:46
Just four stocks finished in the red in London as the Footsie closed 1.85% higher, near its highest levels of the day. Sentiment was given a lift around midday after positive newsflow out of Italy and some encouraging economic data from the US. ITALIAN YIELDS DOWN; US DATA PROVIDES A LIFT Italy's
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Premier Foods rising - again
11th Nov 2011 12:47
Premier Foods was soaring once again, buoyed by the news announced earlier in the week that it would be given breathing space on a covenant test. The firm was also aided by news that one of its directors had purchased himself shares. Following suit, precision instrumentation and controls company S
Read morePremier Foods director spoons up more shares
11th Nov 2011 10:43
Bob Spooner, group operations director of Premier Foods, has served himself £13,350 worth of shares, just days after the struggling firm was given a bit of breathing space by its bankers. The bankers have agreed to defer the company's end-of-year loan covenant tests by three months, in a move which
Read moreLondon Close - FTSE flat as investors eye Italy
7th Nov 2011 16:55
UK prices were broadly flat on Monday dropping just 0.3% following steady rises since early September. However, investors are keeping a wary eye on developments in Italy. The human comedy sketch known as Silvio "Il Cavalieri" Berlusconi, appears to be teetering on the edge of losing power. The pre
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Premier Foods rises 10%
7th Nov 2011 13:37
Leading the way north for the FTSE 250 index is struggling food manufacturer Premier Foods, which has been given a bit of breathing space by its bankers, who have agreed to defer the company's end-of-year loan covenant tests by three months. The company, which a month ago issued a profits-warning a
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks off the bottom
7th Nov 2011 12:20
UK prices are off the bottom, but investors are keeping a wary eye on developments in Italy, where reports suggest that Il Cavalieri, Silvio Berlusconi, could resign the post of Prime Minister within a matter of hours. CHOPPY WATERS AHEAD FOR WEIR Scottish engineering firm Weir, the company which
Read moreLondon open: Recession fears spook investors
7th Nov 2011 09:20
You will search in vain for positive features among FTSE 100 index constituents, as every stock that belongs to the top-share index is lower, after consultancy BDO LLP's UK output index, which tries to gauge output over the next three months, declined in October to the lowest level in more than two
Read moreBanks give Premier Foods breathing space
7th Nov 2011 07:36
Struggling food manufacturer Premier Foods has been given a bit of breathing space by its bankers, who have agreed to defer the company's end-of-year loan covenant tests by three months. The company, which a month ago issued a profits-warning and which has seen its share price dive by two-fifths si
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Renishaw drops after as disappointment
13th Oct 2011 12:58
Precision tool maker Renishaw's plummeted on Thursday after the firm admitted that revenue growth in the three months ended 30th September was lower than planned. Shares dropped over 18% after the firm said that revenues rose by just 15% in the first quarter to £70.5m, while pre-tax profit dropped
Read moreLondon close: Higher finish after choppy day
12th Oct 2011 16:36
London's leading share index closed in the blue as worries over the Slovak parliament's rejection of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) gave way to optimism that it will be passed. SLOVAK SEE-SAW Late Tuesday night, just 55 of the 150 MPs in Slovakia's parliament voted in favour of expan
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Premier Foods down after 'shocking' results
12th Oct 2011 13:24
Premier Foods plummeted after Exane's analyst Jeff Stent branded the firm's third-quarter results as "shocking" and said that he failed to see "an equity escape route" for the company. The broker has valued the firm's stock at -5.4p, a devastating blow for the company which has already issued two
Read moreSector movers: No appetite for Premier Foods
10th Oct 2011 15:21
Premier Foods is leading the food sector lower after RBS has downgraded its rating on the maker of Hovis bread from buy to hold and cut its target price by a whopping 84% following the group's profit warning on Friday. The food manufacturer revealed that third quarter results were "significantly b
Read moreBroker tips: Capita, Premier Foods, Stagecoach
10th Oct 2011 12:57
Galvan Research and Trading rates Capita shares as a buy, saying that the firm could see an "outsourcing bid pipeline boom". "Outsourcing is designed to achieve efficiencies and is particularly suited to economic downturns, a factor well illustrated by the Capita forward bid pipeline," said head of
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