LMS Capital director trades in 1.44m shares
7th Dec 2012 16:18
Robert Rayne, a non-Executive Director of LMS Capital, an investment company specialising in small- to medium-sized companies in the consumer, energy and business services, has sold 1.44m shares in the company at 84p. The £1.2m sale comes one week after the group unveiled plans to return up to £40
Read moreTopps Tiles posts first sales rise in five years
27th Nov 2012 08:48
Topps Tiles said revenues and profits were up after reported it an overall increase in year-on-year sales for the first time since 2007. The firm said this came after a tough first half gave way to a considerably improved second period. Like-for-like sales dropped 4.7% in the first half of the fin
Read moreTuesday preview: Mitchells and Butler and Severn Trent
26th Nov 2012 13:54
Pubs group Mitchells and Butler reports its full year figures, with analysts at Peel Hunt not expecting 'any major surprises'. Nor does it expect any fireworks in terms of strategy, despite a new Chief Executive Officer at the helm. Analyst Nicolas Batram has pencilled in sales of £1.89bn, with pr
Read moreTopps Tiles on target after strong fourth quarter
26th Sep 2012 08:27
Profit for the year at tile specialist Topps Tiles is expected to be broadly in line with forecasts after stellar demand in the final quarter. The retailer said it traded positively in the fourth quarter, with revenues estimated to have increased by 3.7% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis. Revenues fo
Read moreTopps Tiles recovery continues
4th Jul 2012 07:07
The UK's largest tile specialist Topps Tiles reassured investors of its turnaround progress as it posted a 2.1% increase in third quarter like-for-like revenues compared to a 1.9% decline in the same period a year earlier. The tiles and flooring specialist said results for the third quarter are in
Read moreWednesday preview: Carillion, Genus, Topps Tiles
3rd Jul 2012 17:56
Tomorrow is Independence Day in the USA, so US markets will be closed but there should be plenty of news back in Blighty to keep traders occupied. Support services firm Carillion brings out a pre-close trading statement. Broker Peel Hunt says it is concerned that Middle East construction, which acc
Read moreWeek ahead: BoE, ECB, N Brown, Topps Tiles
29th Jun 2012 11:00
The main event of next week will likely be the policy decisions in both the UK and Europe around Thursday lunchtime. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be revealing its policy decision at midday on Thursday with the majority of economists expecting the Bank of England (BoE) to ramp up its ass
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 moreEaster boost for Topps Tiles
29th May 2012 07:33
Tile specialist Topps Tiles managed to stop shrinking sales in the seven weeks to 19th May, following a boost in trading in the run up to Easter. The group, which operates 320 stores, said like for like sales over in the seven-week period rose 4.5% compared to a 2.1% decline in during the same peri
Read moreBank holiday blues for Topps Tiles
28th Mar 2012 12:20
After showing signs of stopping the rot in the first quarter of its fiscal year flooring specialist Topps Tiles would have kept the improvement going in the second quarter, but for the timing of the New Year bank holiday. LFL sales in the six months to the end of March are expected to be down arou
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
28th Mar 2012 08:24
Babcock: UBS ups target from 800p to 880p, reiterates buy rating. Compass Group: Nomura keeps buy rating and 800p target. GKN: Investec reiterates buy rating and 240p target. Hansteen: Jefferies reiterates hold recommendation and 80p target. Henderson: Investec upgrades from hold to buy. Qineti
Read moreWednesday preview: Steady progress expected at Topps Tiles
27th Mar 2012 15:49
Flooring specialist Topps Tiles is set to update the market on how trading has been going in the second quarter of the current financial year. Peel Hunt is not expecting the like-for-like (LFL) sales decline to improve all that much, it thinks the business has continued to make steady progress sinc
Read moreTopps Tiles shows slight improvement in first quarter
10th Jan 2012 14:24
Trading continues to be tough for flooring specialist Topps Tiles but the retailer's performance has showed a slight improvement in recent weeks. The firm said on Tuesday that like-for-like sales had fallen by 4.2% in the first quarter, but noted a slight pick-up from the 6.9% LFL revenue decline s
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
10th Jan 2012 09:15
Cairn Energy: Oriel upgrades to add from hold. Tesco: Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgrades to neutral from buy. Marks & Spencer: Panmure Gordon reiterates hold and 307p target; Peel Hunt maintains hold and 350p target. Barclays: UBS cuts target from 215p to 199p, neutral rating unchanged. R
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