United Utilities rallies on Bernstein upgrade; Centrica also lifted
7th Sep 2015 14:31
(ShareCast News) - United Utilities rallied after Bernstein upgraded the stock to 'outperform' from 'market perform' and lifted the price target to 1,050p from 1,040p. It said the upgrade was motivated by the valuation gap that has opened between it and Severn Trent since it downgraded both stocks t
Read moreUnited Utilities water bug warning remains in place
7th Aug 2015 15:06
(ShareCast News) - United Utilities said on Friday that it is continuing to advise customers in Lancashire to boil their water before use after a routine test at Franklaw water treatment works in Preston found small traces of a microscopic bug in the water. Customers in Blackpool, Chorley, Fylde, Pr
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Anglo American leads miners higher, Burberry hit by weak Asian sales
15th Jul 2015 14:36
(ShareCast News) - London markets were subdued on Wednesday, as strong performances from telecommunications, insurance and property stocks were offset by weakness in the oil, engineering and software sectors. As of 14:30 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading flat at 6,762. On the corporate front, Anglo Ame
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Travel stocks rebound, but supermarkets dip on Kantar data
30th Jun 2015 13:06
UK stocks extended losses on Tuesday, as the recovery in travel stocks was offset by weakness in supermarkets and miners. As of 14:30 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.6% lower at 6,583. Travel stocks including TUI, Easyjet and IAG rebounded from Monday's losses, which followed disruption to tourism
Read moreBroker Tips: Brewin Dolphin, Wentworth, United Utilities
29th Jun 2015 10:21
RBC Capital Markets upgraded Brewin Dolphin to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' and kept the price target unchanged at 335p. It said Brewin's underperformance is overdone and presents an attractive entry point, noting that the share price has declined 17% in the past six weeks. It attributed the d
Read moreHSBC upgrades United Utilities to 'buy'
29th Jun 2015 09:29
HSBC upgraded United Utilities to 'buy' from 'hold' and bumped up its price target to 1,050p from 1,000p. HSBC said it continues to value the company using three methodologies: discounted cash flow, dividend yield and sum of the parts. It assigns 50% weight to dividend yield and 25% each to DCF and
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Admiral hit by downgrade, Tesco higher on bid speculation
25th Jun 2015 13:29
UK stocks inched lower on Thursday as investors continued to fret over the Greek debt crisis, with creditors issuing an ultimatum to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. As of 14:00, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.3% lower at 6,825. Insurer Admiral declined after Citigroup downgraded the stock to 'sell' from
Read moreLondon open: Stocks snap winning streak as Greek hopes fade
25th Jun 2015 08:36
UK stocks snapped a five-day winning streak on Thursday morning as hopes for an overnight Greek debt deal were dashed, with Athens and its creditors failing to come to an agreement. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.21% lower at 6,830.50 early on. Greece remained "firm on its position", according to a Gre
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks drop as Greek negotiations hit rough patch
12th Jun 2015 11:44
The UK stock market was firmly in the red on Friday as jitters about ongoing Greek debt talks continued to weigh on sentiment. The FTSE 100 was down 0.61% at 6,805.13 by midday after the International Monetary Fund's technical team quit discussions due to a lack of progress from Athens. The IMF on
Read moreSevern Trent, United Utilities downgraded to 'market perform' by Bernstein
12th Jun 2015 09:56
Bernstein downgraded Severn Trent and United Utilities to 'market perform' from 'outperform', cutting the price targets to 2,150p from 2,300p and 1,040p from 1,050p, respectively. "In our view the current valuations reflect a significant probability of takeover and we see limited upside to the curre
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
3rd Jun 2015 08:41
Tesco: JP Morgan retains underweight, lowers price target to 175p from 185p. Amec Foster Wheeler: JP Morgan maintains overweight and 905p target. Bellway: JP Morgan raises target to 2,575p from 1,150p and reiterates overweight. Barratt Developments: JP Morgan lifts target to 650p from 550p and ove
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Vodafone surges on continued merger speculation, miners higher
22nd May 2015 12:51
UK stocks were buoyed on Friday by higher commodity prices and data revealing the US had remained in deflation last month. Sector-wise gains made by miners, engineers and telecoms stocks outweighed weakness in technology and travel stocks. At 14:00 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading 37 points higher at 7
Read moreUnited Utilities reports rise in full-year profit
21st May 2015 07:19
United Utilities posted a rise in underlying profit for the year ended 31 March to £664.3m from £634.6m, on revenue of £1.7bn, up 1.9% from last year. Full-year operating profit came in at £653.3m compared with £630.2m last year. The company said it had continued to tightly manage its costs base, d
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds surges on strong first quarter profits, property stock lower
1st May 2015 13:10
Lloyds Banking Group topped the risers after delivering a bigger-than-forecast 21% jump in underlying profits in the first quarter, as impairment charges more than halved. The UK lender also lifted its net interest margin guidance for the full year and improved its capital position. Stimulus hopes w
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 pulled below 7000 by declines on US markets
25th Mar 2015 16:51
London's FTSE 100 accelerated in the red by the end of Wednesday's session with declines in US markets offering direction to the downside. Late in Europe, Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.1% in New York and the S&P500 is off 0.9% in low volume trade with markets cutting exposure following poor
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