Broker 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 moreMonday broker update: Smith&Nephew, IAG, Tate&Lyle -UPDATE
7th Nov 2011 09:19
Taylor Wimpey: Peel Hunt keeps at sell. XChanging: Peel Hunt stay at sell. Tullet Prebon: Singer Capital keeps at buy. Bovis Homes: Panmure Gordon stays at hold. Rotork: Panmure Gordon upgrades to buy from hold. Lonrho: Panmure Gordon keeps at buy. Hammerson: Panmure Gordon keeps at buy. Smi
Read moreTaylor Wimpey trading in line
7th Nov 2011 07:09
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said it remains firmly on track to deliver double-digit operating margin in the UK in 2012, as long as present stable market conditions continue. "We expect to deliver further margin improvement in the UK beyond 2012, particularly through the development of our extensiv
Read moreSafestore chief executive locks up some cash
28th Sep 2011 15:32
Safestore's chief executive Peter Gowers has made his first deposit since joining the self storage company in February, spending more than £100,000. He took 100,000 shares at 105p a time. Gowers is a former chief executive of Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group's Asia Pacific division
Read moreUPDATE: Tuesday broker round-up
20th Sep 2011 13:38
BAE Systems: Societe Generale upgrades to buy, raises target to 330p from 280p. Kesa Electricals: Espirito Santo downgrades to sell, cuts target from 110p to 75p. Wilmington Group: Peel Hunt upgrades to buy. Moneysupermarket.com: Brewin Dolphin upgrades to buy. Barratt Developments: Citigroup up
Read moreRalph Lauren man nets Celtic shares
18th Aug 2011 14:38
Brian Duffy, a non-executive director at the Glasgow football club Celtic, has upped his stake in the company after its final results. He took 50,000 shares at 42p a time and now, paying £21,000 in total, and now has 157,750. In the year to 30 June, Celtic posted a pre-tax profit of £102,000, agai
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Rightmove, Legal &General, Taylor Wimpey
4th Aug 2011 06:49
The phenomenon that is Rightmove chalked up another rock-solid performance in the six months to June. The online property advertising platform seems unstoppable. The shares are a strong hold, even on a gloomy view of the economy and the housing market. Investors of a more sunny disposition should bu
Read moreTaylor Wimpey back in profit
3rd Aug 2011 12:35
House builder Taylor Wimpey said it had leapt back into profit in the first half of the year after selling its North American unit. The company anonced a pre-tax profit of £28.9 m, compared with a loss of £2.3m a year earlier. It completed 4,707 homes in the UK in the first half, down from 4,804 l
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Greene King, Cairn, Hampson
1st Jul 2011 06:30
While Greene King's retail estate of 915 pubs remains the driver thanks to sizzling food sales, its brewing business and 2,400 tenanted pubs are also outpacing rivals. Greene King's skill at increasing sales while mitigating cost rises has kept the cash flowing, allowing it to lift the divdend for t
Read moreLondon close: Flat finish for FTSE 100
21st Apr 2011 16:53
Shares calmed down at the end of a volatile week, though there were some interesting company updates for traders to get their teeth into ahead of the Easter break. Data search software firm Autonomy stormed ahead after releasing full-year figures in the afternoon. It posted record earnings in the f
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Autonomy tops risers on record earnings
21st Apr 2011 13:23
Data search software firm Autonomy is topping the risers after it posted record earnings in the first quarter as it benefitted from the increasing popularity of cloud computing, a means of storing data remotely. Retail giant Next is wanted after UBS hiked up its forecasts on a better margin outloo
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 seeking direction
21st Apr 2011 12:03
Shares have paused for breath following sharp jump yesterday. William Hill raced ahead after the bookmaker reported good growth in its retail and online operations in the 13 weeks to 29 March. Total revenues were up by 11% from the same period a year ago, with retail seeing an 8% rise and online r
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