Thursday broker round-up
21st Jun 2012 09:13
ARM Holdings: Investec maintains buy rating and 800p target. Ashtead: Jefferies ups target from 300p to 320p, buy rating retained. Bellway: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral. British Land: Societe Generale downgrades to sell. CRH: HSBC upgrades to overweight. Dignity: Goldman Sachs downgrades
Read moreLondon close: Markets look to Fed for more stimulus
20th Jun 2012 16:32
-Greek forms new coalition government -MPC divided on more QE -Markets await the Fed decision later today News of the formation of a Greek coalition and hopes of further stimulus measures in the UK and the US gave stocks a lift on Wednesday afternoon. New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras was swor
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Sage provides a lift after acquisition
20th Jun 2012 15:30
Accountancy software behemoth Sage Group was the best performer on the blue-chip index today after acquiring a majority interest in Folhamatic Group, a provider of accounting, tax and payroll and regulatory content software in Brazil, for 125m pounds. Investec upgraded its rating on the stock today
Read moreLondon close: Stocks jump ahead of FOMC meeting
19th Jun 2012 16:44
- Markets look to FOMC with optimism - G20 meeting still ongoing, leaders pledge support - Whitbread, Home Retail lead risers in London Central bank stimulus speculation was doing the rounds today ahead of a key policy meeting in the US, fuelling a strong rise for the Footsie - the index finished a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Whitbread pushes FTSE higher
19th Jun 2012 15:40
Forecast-beating like-for-like (LFL) sales growth in its first quarter saw shares of Whitbread jump during Tuesday's session. The Premier Inn and Costa Coffee owner reported that LFL sales increased by 4.5%, better than expectations of a 3.0% improvement. Engineering group Weir was also making imp
Read moreLondon midday: Stimulus hopes drive gains
19th Jun 2012 11:28
- G20 to take 'all necessary policy measures' - UK, US stimulus hopes boost markets - Whitbread, Home Retail rise strongly UK stocks were trading near their highest levels of the day by lunchtime on hopes that the world's leaders can pull together to battle the global financial crisis. According t
Read moreBroker tips: Whitbread, Weir, Shell
19th Jun 2012 11:22
In spite of Whitbread's robust first-quarter results, Investec reiterated its 'sell' rating for the Premier Inn and Costa owner on Tuesday, saying that it retains a bearish long-term outlook on the stock. The broker has raised its full-year earnings per share (EPS) forecast by 2.3% from 140.6p to 1
Read moreBroker snap: Whitbread still a 'sell', says Investec
19th Jun 2012 10:12
In spite of Whitbread's well-received first-quarter results, Investec reiterated its 'sell' rating for the Premier Inn and Costa owner on Tuesday, saying that it retains a bearish long-term outlook on the stock. The broker does highlight that trading in the first three months of the year was "posit
Read moreLondon open: Whitbread, Home Retail provide a boost early on
19th Jun 2012 08:30
- Leaders to take 'all necessary policy measures' - Whitbread provides a lift on the Footsie after strong Q1 - Greece, Spain and FOMC in focus The FTSE 100 index advanced in early trading on Tuesday morning after euro members pledged to 'safeguard' the region. According to a leaked draft communiqu
Read moreLondon pre-open: Small rise expected in early trading
19th Jun 2012 07:28
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 14 points from yesterday's close of 5,491, with investors keeping a close watch on the situation in Spain as the country auctions off its debt later in the morning. The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds has climbed above the key marker of 7.0%, the level w
Read moreCaffeine rush at Whitbread
19th Jun 2012 07:02
The Whitbread bandwagon rolls on with the Premier Inn and Costa Coffee owner reporting forecast-busting like-for-like (LFL) sales growth in its first quarter. Total sales in the 13 weeks to May 31st were up 13.9% on the corresponding period of 2011, with LFL sales up 4.5%. Broker Jefferies had gone
Read moreTuesday preview: Whitbread, Home Retail, Chemring, inflation
18th Jun 2012 15:32
Whitbread holds its annual general meeting on Tuesday, and is likely to give shareholders an update on trading in its first quarter. Aided by relatively easy comparisons from a year ago, broker Jefferies thinks Whitbread will pour out like-for-like (LFL) sales growth of around 3%, with the Premier
Read moreBroker tips: Whitbread, Dixons, Aggreko
15th Jun 2012 13:08
Dixons is due to report its preliminary results on Thursday 21 June. Consensus expects pre-tax profits to be in the range £65m to £70m and Panumre Gordon analysts are at the top end. The company has already reported fourth quarter sales, which showed an "encouraging" improvement in the UK (+8% lik
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura rates Restaurant Group, M&B and Marston's as buy
15th Jun 2012 11:29
In a research note published this morning analysts at Nomura comment that the pub sector has suffered from the perfect storm of long-term wet-led decline, short-term pressure on UK consumer spending and investor aversion to high leverage. For that reason they are cautious on the overall consumer en
Read moreWeek Ahead: Elections, BoE minutes, Whitbread
15th Jun 2012 08:02
Unusually, focus next week will be more on polling stations than stock markets, with Greece, France and Egypt all holding elections over the week-end. The key one for the future of the Eurozone is Greece, although a Socialist victory in France could also have interesting repercussions for the futur
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