London close: Upmarket housebuilders hit as investors digest Autumn Statement
3rd Dec 2014 16:29
Upmarket housing stocks took a hit but airlines were flying higher as investors reacted to the UK's Autumn Statement on Wednesday. Shares in Berkeley Group Holdings were 76p off at 2468p and estate agency Foxtons subsided 2.6p to 152.8p as Chancellor George Osborne introduced a new stamp duty regime
Read moreSector movers: Software stocks rise as Sage results impress
3rd Dec 2014 14:40
Software and computer services stocks were the best performers in London on Wednesday as a well-received annual report from Sage gave the sector a boost. Sage, the FTSE 100 company which makes business software for accounting, payrolls and forecasting, saw shares rise 5% in afternoon trade as it rep
Read moreSage's "decent set of figures" provide reassurance, says Westhouse
3rd Dec 2014 10:21
Westhouse Securities has reiterated it 'add' recommendation and 467p target price for Sage Group after the accountancy software firm reported a "decent set of figures" in its annual report on Wednesday. Revenues came in at £1.31bn in the year to 30 September, up 4.9% on organically but down 5% on a
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to extend gains ahead of busy session
3rd Dec 2014 07:44
Tracking gains seen in the US overnight, but tempered by a mixed session in Asia, City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 11 points higher than Tuesday's close of 6,742.10. Attention is expected to move some degree away from oil, which has dominated markets in recent days, and turn instea
Read moreSage says 2015 revenue rises likely to be in H2
3rd Dec 2014 07:35
Accountancy software group Sage hailed higher annual profits and the achievement of key financial milestones for 2014 and said it was on track to hit financial targets for 2015, although 2014 revenues fell. It also cautioned that revenue growth next year was likely to be weighted to the second half.
Read moreWednesday preview: Sage Group to report annual results
2nd Dec 2014 15:11
Software company Sage Group on Wednesday is expected to report an increase in annual earnings under new chief executive Stephen Kelly. The consensus forecast on revenue is at £1.317bn, up from £1.315bn a year earlier. Earnings before interest, tax and appreciation (EBITDA) is pegged at £362m, compar
Read moreBroker tips: BT, Sage, Compass, Thomas Cook
26th Nov 2014 12:26
UBS has speculated that if BT follows through with its current talks to buy O2 or EE it would become less aggressive in the forthcoming Premier League rights auction and produce a better outcome for Sky. "We think concerns about Sky losing the EPL rights are weighing on investor sentiment but we are
Read moreNumis says higher capital returns possible at Sage, upgrades to 'add'
26th Nov 2014 11:10
Numis Securities has raised its recommendation for accountancy software group Sage from 'hold' to 'add' ahead of the company's annual results next week. Following the appointment of new Sage chief executive Stephen Kelly this month, Numis said that the results, due on 3 December, will be "a clear op
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Tesco, Sage
23rd Sep 2014 07:02
There is speculation that Tesco may have been too optimistic when forecasting how successful its promotions – and hence promotion related payments from suppliers – would be. Nevertheless, when the company does finally come round to releasing its results it will have a lot of explaining t
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tesco slides after revising H1 guidance
22nd Sep 2014 14:48
The downside was led by supermarket giant Tesco after the group downwardly revised its profit forecast for the six months ended 23 August, saying it had previously overestimated it by £250m. The food retailer cited "accelerated recognition of commercial income" and "delayed accrual of costs" as the
Read moreSage acquires HR and payroll firm Paychoice
22nd Sep 2014 13:00
FTSE 100-listed Sage Group has taken ownership of Paychoice, which provides payroll and HR services for small and medium-sized businesses in the US. The group said the move accelerates its move to the Cloud by leveraging its software as a service (SaaS) platform. The £96.9m purchase is expected to
Read moreSector movers: Aveva profit warning sinks software stocks
12th Sep 2014 13:52
A profit warning from Aveva sent the UK-listed software sector firmly into the red on Friday with the FTSE 250 losing as much as a quarter of its value. The stock was down 24.6% in afternoon trade after Aveva added to the list of problems affecting its first-half results. Currency movements and the
Read moreTarsus exec tops up stake after recent share-price weakness
15th Aug 2014 15:31
Robert Ware, a non-executive director at Tarsus, has used the recent dip in the media group's share price to top up his stake. The business-to-business company, which works in the exhibitions, conferences, education, publishing and online media sectors, said that Ware purchased 5,750 shares at a pr
Read moreSage chairman shows support for new CEO
6th Aug 2014 17:01
After the confirmation that Stephen Kelly was to succeed Guy Berruyer as chief executive officer of Sage chairman Donald Brydon proved his confidence in the appointment with the purchase of £55,755 shares at 371.5p. The shares had peaked earlier in the year around 435p, with the stock price driftin
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Pharma stocks drop as regulation looks to derail M&A
6th Aug 2014 14:26
Shire, the pharmaceutical group which has agreed to a £32bn takeover by Abbvie, saw its shares decline sharply on Wednesday on concerns that stricter rules on so-called 'tax inversion' in the States could scupper the deal. Sector peer Astrazeneca, which had recently been the target of a failed £69b
Read more