Wednesday broker round-up - UDPATE
21st Dec 2011 08:51
HSBC: Investec reiterates buy with 800p target. Barclays: Investec reiterates buy with 330p target. Tesco: Nomura maintains buy rating and 500p target. AstraZeneca: Nomura keeps reduce recommendation and 2,400p target. Thorntons: Investec puts 35p target under review, hold rating kept; Merchant
Read moreBroker tips: Petrofac, Carpetright, UK house-builders
13th Dec 2011 12:34
Investec has reiterated its buy rating on oilfield services giant Petrofac, following the group's pre-close trading update in which it said it expects to deliver like-for-like (LFL) profit growth in 2011 of at least 20%. "Petrofac continues to make good progress on all fronts and we maintain our po
Read moreBroker snap: UBS warns of macro challenges for UK house-builders
13th Dec 2011 11:35
In its assessment of the UK house-building sector, UBS hails has warned that the upcoming year will be tough on stocks given the more challenging macro-economic outlook. UK house-builders have outperformed the FTSE All-Share index by 25% in 2011 so far, UBS notes, despite a difficult mortgage marke
Read moreBroker tips: Centrica, Amlin, House-builders
21st Nov 2011 12:56
Investec has reiterated its buy rating on British Gas owner Centrica after the energy giant's announcement of "major moves in the gas market". "We believe that these are good moves that will underpin Centrica's position on both the Upstream and Downstream side," said Investec analyst Angelos Anasta
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse raises targets on UK house builders
21st Nov 2011 12:14
Analysts at Credit Suisse are quite positive on the ability of UK house-builders to tap their holdings of land to generate cash if necessary. For that reason they have decided to raise their price targets on several of those companies, while maintaining their positive view on the sector. By their
Read moreSector movers: Vodafone drags telecoms lower
16th Nov 2011 15:41
Vodafone has fallen nearly 4%, providing a drag in the telecommunications sector. The stock went ex-dividend today, hence the fall, meaning that investors no longer have the rights to receive the most recently-announced dividend. In other Vodafone-related news, according to Reuters, Dutch telecoms
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Supergroup shines ahead of tomorrow's update
8th Nov 2011 13:18
Fashion firm Supergroup was top of the leaderboard after investors stocked up on shares ahead of Wednesday's trading update for the second quarter, promoting speculation that the statement will spell good news for shareholders. Also heading higher is Lamprell, a specialist engineering firm serving
Read morePersimmon sees spike in first time buyers
8th Nov 2011 07:49
The UK's largest housebuilder Persimmon said visitor levels to site continue to be encouraging with first time buyer visitors rising 35% since 1 July from the same period last year. "Customers are keen to participate in the Government sponsored FirstBuy shared equity scheme introduced to the market
Read moreSunday share tip round-up: Dechra, Aveva, Persimmon
6th Nov 2011 17:27
The first three months of the financial year started well at animal health-care group Dechra. Revenue in the first quarter is 7.7% ahead of the same period last year, whereas consensus for the current year is for revenues to rise 4.7%, so this result looks good. Particularly heartening for The Sunda
Read moreUPDATE: Wednesday broker round-up
5th Oct 2011 09:12
Sainsbury: H2O Markets downgrades to hold. Tesco: Baadar Bank confirms buy rating and 500p target. Kingfisher: Investec keeps hold and 245p target. Wood Group: Investec places target under review, hold recommendation maintained. SuperGroup: Peel Hunt downgrades from buy to hold, target put unde
Read moreLondon close: Late rally pulls Footsie into the blue
23rd Aug 2011 16:31
After a strong start on Wall Street - which saw the three benchmark indices gain at least 1.1% each - the Footsie ended in positive territory, despite dipping into the red in the afternoon. However, gains were only modest as volatile trade continued. Security services provider G4S was the high rise
Read moreBroker tips: Micro Focus, Persimmon, H&T
23rd Aug 2011 12:55
Following Monday's announcement that signalled the end to bid talks at legacy software firm Micro Focus International, Swiss investment bank UBS has slashed its target price on the stock from 450p to 380p. The broker's previous target price was calculated using an EV/NOPAT multiple of 12 (EV/NOPAT:
Read moreBroker snap: Prime Markets hails 'sterling' numbers at Persimmon
23rd Aug 2011 12:53
Prime Markets says that the dividend boost at house-builder Persimmon should support a break higher in the shares and reiterates its buy recommendation on the stock. "Housebuilder Persimmon has today produced a sterling set of numbers, offsetting a revenue fall with a profits boost while reducing n
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks stay buoyant as bid talks boost Charter
23rd Aug 2011 12:09
The FTSE 100 remains buoyant, with some action on the mergers & acquisitions front giving traders another distraction from ongoing global economic concerns. Engineering group Charter International has confirmed speculation that it has received a second offer following a previous one from rival Melr
Read moreLondon open: FTSE 100 gains as Antofagasta and G4S impress
23rd Aug 2011 08:24
The top share index has continued its rally with the recent gloom seemingly giving way to cautious optimism. Miners are in demand amid a perception that recent falls on worries over global economic growth may be overdone. Among the risers is South America-focused copper group Antofagasta which pos
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