Broker snap: WH Smith deserves a higher rating
23rd Aug 2012 10:18
Investec has put its target price under review for newsagents chain WH Smith following the group's pre-closing trading update on Thursday, saying that the shares merit a higher rating. "WH Smith has indicated another welcome but unexpected profit before tax upgrade, further to our upgrade post th
Read moreThursday broker round-up
23rd Aug 2012 09:29
Aegis: Nomura maintains buy rating and 240p target. British Land: Jefferies downgrades to hold. Cobham: Citigroup downgrades to neutral, target cut from 265p to 230p. Diageo: Jefferies maintains buy rating and 1,915p target; Investec maintains buy rating and 1,900p target. Evraz: HSBC upgrades t
Read moreLondon open: Stimulus hopes drives gains after Fed minutes
23rd Aug 2012 08:44
- QE hopes increase after FOMC minutes - The ball is in Greece's court, says Juncker - Chinese manufacturing PMI falls to nine-month low Stocks bounced back after a sell-off yesterday as the details of the latest policy-rate setting meeting in the US showed that the Federal Reserve could embark upo
Read moreWH Smith's results to be at top end
23rd Aug 2012 08:09
Newsagent chain WH Smith expects results for the year to the end of August will be at the top end of market expectations as the group's Travel business improves margins. The group's Travel business, which has branches in transport hubs such as airports, coach stations and railway stations, is chugg
Read moreFriday tips round-up: WS Atkins, WH Smith
15th Jun 2012 07:52
Engineering consultancy WS Atkins continues to reallocate resources into new, growth markets to keep its trading resilient through the downturn. The strategy is working. Contractors such as Atkins, which provides consulting, design and management services for large infrastructure projects, have had
Read moreLondon close: Losses pared, but Sky falls in
14th Jun 2012 16:42
A late rally on the back of Wall Street strength saw Footsie erase most of the day's losses. Eurozone worries were on the market's mind for much of the day after credit ratings agency Moody's slashed Spain's sovereign debt rating by three notches to a level barely above junk status. Italy's bond
Read moreLondon midday: Markets calm as Italian yields rise
14th Jun 2012 11:50
Markets have reacted positively in the main to the outcome of the Italian bond auction on Thursday morning, which saw yields rise fairly steeply. Italy issued a total of €4.5bn of debt in three, seven, and eight-year bonds. It matched its issuance target but had to pay higher yields than on the pr
Read moreLondon open: Sweet FA deal batters Sky and BT
14th Jun 2012 08:45
You would have thought that the market had become used to sovereign debt downgrades by now, but the decision by Moody's to take Spain's rating down three notches to a level adjacent to 'junk' status has ratcheted up tension ahead of Italy's debt auction this morning. Italy is set to auction €4.75bn
Read moreMargins improve at WH Smith
14th Jun 2012 08:06
WH Smith, the High Street and travel hub newsagent chain, saw like-for-like sales dip at the start of the second half of its financial year. Total group sales in the 15 week period from February 26th to June 9th were down 1% on a year earlier, with like-for-like (LFL) sales off 3%. The firm's Trav
Read moreMonday broker round-up
11th Jun 2012 09:37
Antofagasta: RBS Capital Markets downgrades to underperform. Ashtead: Jefferies keeps buy recommendation and 300p target. Barclays: Bank of America Merrill Lynch keeps buy rating and 370p target; Oriel Securities reiterates buy recommendation and 285p target. BP: Nomura retains neutral stance and
Read moreBroker tips: Petropavlovsk, Ladbrokes, Retailers
6th Jun 2012 11:14
UBS has upgraded its rating for Russia-focused gold group Petropavlovsk from neutral to buy on the back of the recent share-price underperformance and weakness in the rouble. However, UBS has cut its target price from 650p to 630p after lowering its 2012 earnings per share (EPS) forecast by 22% to
Read moreBroker snap: Forecasts for retailers have 'moved from the nadir'
6th Jun 2012 11:04
Peel Hunt has named its top picks and top risks as part of its review of the general retail sector, saying that while the category has enjoyed a strong start to 2012, the recovery is likely to be a long haul. "Outperformance across the retail sector continues to be earnings- driven and stock-specif
Read moreWH Smith director goes to the till
23rd Apr 2012 15:43
Jeff Harris, a Non-Executive Director at WH Smith, purchased 10,000 shares in the stationery and book retailer on Friday, one day after the firm's interim results. Harris, currently the Chairman of FTSE 250 speciality plastic and fibre products supplier Filtrona who joined WH Smith's board in June
Read moreMonday broker round-up
23rd Apr 2012 08:56
ARM Holdings: JP Morgan Cazenove upgrades from underweight to neutral, target lifted from 400p to 540p. AstraZeneca: Barclays Capital upgrades from underweight to equal weight, target upped from 3,200p to 3,250p. Aviva: Goldman Sachs upgrades from neutral to buy. Barclays: Nomura reiterates neutr
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Hargreaves, WH Smith, Ladbrokes
20th Apr 2012 07:03
The Tempus column in the Times has taken a look at stockbroker and investment manager Hargreaves Lansdown, saying that thanks to the success of its Vantage funds 'supermarket' platform, "it has been going like the proverbial train." The group reported a £1bn inflow of new funds in the first quarter
Read more