Broker Upgrades and Downgrades & Key UK Corporate Snapshots 30 October 2015

UK Broker Upgrades / Downgrades

 

 

Code Company Broker Recomm. From Recomm. To Price From Price To
Upgrades
CEY Centamin Plc Nomura Reduce Neutral 60
GSK GlaxoSmithKline Plc Deutsche Bank Hold Hold 1450 1500
MGGT Meggitt Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral 450 380
Downgrades
ACA Acacia Mining Plc Nomura Neutral Neutral 285 240
ANTO Antofagasta Plc Goldman Sachs Sell Sell 455 440
BARC Barclays Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight Overweight 320 300
BARC Barclays Plc Goldman Sachs Buy Buy 345 335
EVR Evraz Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Underweight Underweight 129 79
RRS Randgold Resources Ltd Nomura Reduce Reduce 4200 4000
SN. Smith & Nephew Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral Neutral 1069 1024
SN. Smith & Nephew Plc Credit Suisse Neutral Neutral 1130 1105
SN. Smith & Nephew Plc Deutsche Bank Buy Buy 1250 1190
SNR Senior Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight Overweight 335 310
Initiate/Neutral/Unchanged
AV. Aviva Plc Deutsche Bank Buy Buy 620 620
AV. Aviva Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight Overweight 597 597
BARC Barclays Plc Deutsche Bank Buy Buy 306 306
BARC Barclays Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight Overweight 320 320
BT.A BT Group Plc Deutsche Bank Hold Hold 450 450
BT.A BT Group Plc Citigroup Neutral Neutral 485 485
BT.A BT Group Plc Nomura Neutral Neutral 490 490
HGG Henderson Group Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight Overweight 305 305
HGG Henderson Group Plc Citigroup Buy Buy 305 305
KAZ KAZ Minerals Plc Deutsche Bank Buy Buy 240 240
LRD Laird Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight Overweight 400 400
MGGT Meggitt Plc Citigroup Neutral Neutral
NEX National Express Group Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral Neutral 295 295
PTEC Playtech Ltd Deutsche Bank Buy Buy 1000 1000
RDSA Royal Dutch Shell ‘A’ Deutsche Bank Buy Buy
RDSA Royal Dutch Shell ‘A’ Jefferies International Buy Buy 2040 2040
RSA RSA Insurance Group Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral Neutral 448 448
SBRY J Sainsbury Plc Deutsche Bank Hold Hold 275 275

 

US Broker Upgrades / Downgrades

 

 

Code Company Broker Recomm. From Recomm. To Price From Price To
Upgrades
AME AMETEK BofA Merrill Lynch Neutral Buy
AN AutoNation Gabelli & Co Hold Buy $72 $72
CPYYY Centrica Citigroup Neutral Buy
CPG Crescent Point Energy Barclays Equal weight Overweight
DEO Diageo Credit Suisse Neutral Outperform
ECHO Echo Global Logistics BB&T Capital Markets Hold Buy $26 $26
EVER EverBank Financial Maxim Group Hold Buy $22 $22
FDML Federal-Mogul Holdings Gabelli & Co Hold Buy $13 $13
GRMN Garmin Citigroup Sell Neutral
GNRC Generac Holdings BofA Merrill Lynch Underperform Neutral
GPX GP Strategies ROTH Capital Neutral Buy $27 $32
LOCK LifeLock Dougherty & Company Neutral Buy $19 $19
MPEL Melco Crown Entertainment Morgan Stanley Underweight Equal weight
NVDQ Novadaq Technologies First Analysis Sec Equal weight Overweight $15 $15
PEGI Pattern Energy Group BofA Merrill Lynch Neutral Buy
SCG SCANA Corp Macquarie Neutral Outperform
LNCE Snyder’s-Lance Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey Neutral Buy
LNCE Snyder’s-Lance BB&T Capital Markets Hold Buy $42 $42
SONS Sonus Networks Northland Capital Market Perform Outperform $10 $10
SNCR Synchronoss Technologies Raymond James Outperform Strong Buy
YARIY Yara International ASA Societe Generale Hold Buy
Downgrades
AAN Aaron’s KeyBanc Capital Markets Overweight Sector weight
ABM ABM Industries KeyBanc Capital Markets Overweight Sector weight
AKAM Akamai Technologies FBR Capital Market Perform Underperform $59 $49
BABA Alibaba Group Holding Standpoint Research Buy Hold
ABCB Ameris Bancorp Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Outperform Market Perform
APC Anadarko Petroleum Oppenheimer Outperform Perform $95 $95
ARW Arrow Electronics Credit Agricole Buy Outperform
AXTA Axalta Coating Systems JP Morgan Overweight Neutral
BAESY BAE Systems Credit Suisse Outperform Neutral
BHP BHP Billiton Liberum Hold Sell
BWLD Buffalo Wild Wings Wells Fargo Outperform Market Perform
BWLD Buffalo Wild Wings Credit Agricole Buy Underperform
CAVM Cavium Networks Stifel Buy Hold $70 $70
CSBK Clifton Bancorp Compass Point Buy Neutral $14 $16
CNV Cnova Morgan Stanley Overweight Equal weight
CNV Cnova BofA Merrill Lynch Buy Neutral
EIX Edison International Citigroup Buy Neutral
EVER EverBank Financial Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Outperform Market Perform
FFIV F5 Networks RBC Capital Markets Outperform Sector Perform $130 $125
FFIV F5 Networks Needham Buy Hold
FFIC Flushing Financial Piper Jaffray Overweight Neutral
GPRO GoPro Piper Jaffray Neutral Underweight
GNBC Green Bancorp Keefe Bruyette Outperform Market Perform
HTS Hatteras Financial Compass Point Buy Neutral $20 $18
HLS HealthSouth Stifel Buy Hold $52 $52
HEINY Heineken Bernstein Outperform Market Perform
JUNO Juno Therapeutics Standpoint Research Buy Hold
LQ La Quinta Holdings Wells Fargo Outperform Market Perform
LQ La Quinta Holdings Credit Suisse Outperform Neutral
LQ La Quinta Holdings BofA Merrill Lynch Neutral Underperform
PGH Pengrowth Energy Barclays Overweight Equal weight
QIWI QIWI JP Morgan Overweight Neutral
RL Ralph Lauren Barclays Overweight Equal weight $150 $130
O Realty Income UBS Neutral Sell $47 $46
RIO Rio Tinto Liberum Hold Sell
RAD Rite Aid Goldman Sachs Buy Neutral
RAD Rite Aid Credit Suisse Outperform Neutral
ROK Rockwell Automation BofA Merrill Lynch Neutral Underperform
SAPMY Saipem SpA Societe Generale Hold Sell
SINA SINA Citigroup Buy Neutral
STNR Steiner Leisure Stifel Buy Hold $67 $67
SNX SYNNEX Credit Agricole Outperform Underperform
TER Teradyne Pacific Crest Overweight Sector weight
VNTV Vantiv Topeka Capital Markets Buy Hold $48 $52
VECO Veeco Instruments JP Morgan Overweight Neutral
VOLVY Volvo Goldman Sachs Buy Neutral
WB Weibo Citigroup Buy Neutral
Initiated
AIN Albany International Macquarie Outperform
ATHM Autohome Citigroup Buy
BITA Bitauto Holdings Citigroup Buy
GPS Gap Barclays Underweight $22
KAI Kadant Macquarie Neutral
LB L Brands Barclays Equal weight $85
YOKU Youku Tudou Citigroup Neutral

 

Key UK Corporate Snapshots Today

Avacta Group Plc (AVCT.L) Announced that 489,914 ordinary shares of 0.1p have been issued by the company pursuant to the exercise of share options by former employees. Application has been made for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and dealings are expected to commence on 3 November 2015. The total number of ordinary shares in issue following the above issue will be 6,741,139,464 each with voting rights. No Ordinary Shares are held in Treasury.

BG GROUP Plc (BG..L) Announced, in its results for the third quarter, that group revenue stood at $4,152.0 million, compared to $4,590.0 million in the preceding period. Loss net of tax was $101.0 million compared to profit after tax of $1,510.0 million. The company’s diluted loss per share was 3.0c, compared to profit after tax of 44.1c. Meanwhile, the company’s reported revenue for the nine months stood at $11,927.0 million, compared to $15,083.0 million in the prior period. PAT stood at $2,357.0 million compared to $3,979.

Camco Clean Energy Plc (CCE.L) Announced the delivery of its first Jabil manufactured storage system to its Wokingham development centre. This is a 40 kWh storage system and will be connected to PV generation.

Capital Management and Investment Plc (CMIP.L) Announced, in its half year results for six months ended 31 July 2015, that operating loss surged to £9.3 million from £0.219 million posted in the same period last year. The basic loss per share stood at 1.30p compared to loss of 0.03p reported in the previous year. The company’s board has not recommended any dividend for the period. The company’s cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period stood at £6.3 million (H12014: £6.8 million).

CloudTag Incorporation (CTAG.L) Announced that it has entered into a licence agreement with Imec International (“Imec”) pursuant to which, inter alia, Imec has granted to the company an exclusive worldwide commercial licence to the unique algorithms developed for CloudTag and used in the company’s hardware devices (the “Licence”). In fulfilment of payment of the Initial Tranche, the company has agreed to issue to Imec 1,906,556 new ordinary shares in the company (“Initial Tranche Shares”), which will rank pari passu with the company’s existing ordinary shares. Application will be made for the Initial Tranche Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM, which is expected to occur on or around 5 November 2015.

Coal of Africa Limited (CZA.L) Announced together with its subsidiaries, its update for the quarter ended 30 September 2015, that no lost-time injuries (LTIs) recorded during the quarter (FY2015 Q4: nil). There was continued engagements with the Department of Water and Sanitation to progress the application for the Makhado Project Integrated Water Use Licence (IWUL), expected to be granted in Q4 CY2015. The company entered into a Subscription Agreement and a Loan Agreement with Singapore registered private investment company Yishun Brightrise Investment PTE Limited. Available cash at period end was $37.2 million and restricted cash was $1.3 million.

Draganfly Investments Limited (DRG.L) Announced, in its audited financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2015, that realised and unrealised change in fair value of investments stood at a loss of £3,326, compared to a loss of £38,714 in the same period last year. Operating loss stood at £250,914, compared to a loss of £126,371. Loss after tax was £250,914, compared to a loss of £126,371. Diluted loss per share stood at 1.14p, compared to a loss of 1.01p.

Elementis Plc (ELM.L) Announced, in its interim management statement, that group EPS for 2015 is expected to be in line with market expectations. Its specialty products’ sales were 7% lower compared to the same period last year on a constant currency basis, or 20% lower on a reported basis. In coatings, North America sales for decorative applications continued to show good progress as we benefited from the capacity expansion and product innovation from our new additives plant in New Martinsville. However sales to industrial applications continued to experience a slowdown in end-user exports on the back of the stronger US dollar. In personal care, sales for the quarter were 4% lower than the previous year, as the business continued to be impacted by a reduction in sales in Latin America due to currency movements, as reported at the time of the Group’s Interim Results. The level of activity in the North American oil and gas drilling sector remained consistent with that experienced in the second quarter and hence sales for the third quarter were 47% lower than the previous year.

Ferrum Crescent Limited (FCR.L) Announced that the Moonlight Iron Project (“Moonlight” or “Project”) involves the proposed future mining and beneficiation of the Moonlight Deposit in Limpopo Province, northern South Africa for the production of a premium iron product for sale in South Africa and potentially internationally while it is planning activities ongoing with infrastructure suppliers (power, water, rail and port). Meanwhile, Full JORC (2012) compliant Ore Reserve to be established – Infill drilling over Zones A, B and C for advanced mine design work and metallurgical analysis. In the final phase, negotiations and agreements to be concluded with infrastructure providers. On 14 October 2015, the Company announced that the group had entered into a legally binding farm-in and joint venture agreement (the “Agreement”) with Business Venture Investments No. 1709 (Proprietary) Limited (“BVI”) to form a joint venture for the completion of the BFS for the Project. Under the terms of the Agreement, in return for fully funding and completing the BFS across two phases (BFS Phase 1 and BFS Phase 2), BVI will earn up to a 43% equity interest in Ferrum Iron Ore (Pty) Limited (“FIO”), the Group subsidiary that holds the Project.

Global Petroleum Ltd (GBP.L) Announced, in its quarterly update for quarter ending 30 September 2015, that the results of its combined seismic and gravity work in Namibia has proved to be encouraging with regard to the hydrocarbon potential in the company’s offshore blocks. The work increased the confidence in a syn-rift oil play in the outboard or deep water region offshore Namibia and the likely presence of both reservoir and source within the company’s blocks. The company has been discussing with the Namibian authorities possible terms for the continuation of the licence beyond the current extension period. The company also continues to progress the process for awarding four of its exploration applications offshore in Italy. For this, the Italian authorities have recently requested supplementary information relevant to the applications.

International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG.L) Announced, in its consolidated results for the nine months ended 30 September 2015, that its reported total revenue stood at £17.1 billion, compared to £15.2 billion in the preceding period. Profit after tax was £1.2 billion compared to £0.7 billion. The company’s basic earnings per share was 57.1p, compared to 33.4p.

Limitless Earth Plc (LME.L) Announced, in its half year results for six months ended 31 July 2015, that operating loss fell to £0.087 million from £0.175 million posted in the same period preceding year. The company’s loss before tax stood at £0.077 million, compared to a loss of £0.175 million reported in the previous year. The basic loss per share stood at 0.12p compared to loss of 0.68p reported in the previous year. The company’s cash balance at the end of the period stood at £2.7 million (H12014: £2.8 million).

Lookers Plc (LOOK.L) Announced, in its trading update for the quarter ended 30 September 2015, that the company produced a strong trading performance in the quarter, particularly during the important month of September and the Board is very pleased to yet again report a record result for the period. This positive result was a healthy improvement on the corresponding period in 2015. The major development for the group in the period was the acquisition of Benfield Motor Group for a purchase consideration of £87.5 million. This added 30 dealerships to the business and also made a significant contribution to the group result in September. Its motor division delivered another excellent performance in the nine months to 30 September with total gross profit from new cars increasing by 7%. Margins for both new retail and fleet cars were maintained at a similar level to the prior year. Gross profit from used cars increased by 7% during the period, which continues the growth trend of recent years, with margins being maintained at similar levels. The company’s aftersales business increased turnover by 8% compared to 2014, benefitting from the growth in the vehicle parc of cars under three years old and increased the gross margin compared to the previous year. Operational cash flow continued to be strong during the period and was significantly higher compared to the prior year. Net cash flow includes the acquisition of Benfield for £87.5 million, but was ahead of last year if this is excluded.

Marlowe Holdings Limited (MRL.L) Announced, in its half-year results for the period to 30 September, 2015, that interest income stood at £65,000, compared to £48,000 in the same period last year. Net loss before and after taxation stood at £2,000, compared to £13,000. Basic and diluted loss per share stood at 0.02p, compared to a loss of 0.20p.

Moneysupermarket.com Group Plc (MONY.L) Announced, in its trading update, that group revenue stood at £76.2 million in the three months period ended 30 September 2015. Also, the group is benefiting from its multi brand, multi-channel strategy, delivering good growth from both Money and Energy. As reported at the Interims, the third quarter faced strong comparatives. This and stronger competitor activity meant that insurance was flat in the quarter. Money saw further growth driven primarily by current accounts and credit cards. Providers have continued to offer attractive interest rates on their current accounts. Home Services benefitted from the success of the latest MoneySavingExpert collective switch which attracted record numbers of customers. Last year the switch took place in Q4. Subsequently, it announced the amount of the deferred consideration and employee bonuses payable three years after the acquisition of MoneySavingExpert.com (“MSE”) in September 2012. As set out at the time of the acquisition, an additional final amount of up to £27 million remains payable to Martin Lewis and certain MSE employees, the majority of which is based on the achievement of certain non-financial metrics and the remainder at the discretion of the company.

Mosman Oil and Gas Limited (MSMN.L) Announced that the STEP team is now established in an office in New Plymouth. Andy Carroll has been appointed as STEP Chief Operating Officer to manage the project. The team includes Rhys Humphries as STEP Operations Manager responsible for managing the transition and implementing the development plan. Rhys is experienced in O&G design, execution and commissioning and is a key appointment. Further it announced that it has entered into agreements with US institutional investors for the placement of 36,822,466 new ordinary shares at 4.00p per share. Additionally, for every two shares issued, the institutional investors will also be granted one warrant which may be converted on or before the five year anniversary of the issuance date into new ordinary shares at a price of 5.00 pence per share. The gross proceeds to Mosman from the sale of the ordinary shares and warrants will be £1.47 million (before expenses).

Nakama Group Plc (NAK.L) Announced, in its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2015, that its reported revenue stood at £10.64 million, compared to £11.09 million in the preceding period. Profit after tax was £0.17 million compared to £0.22 million. The company’s diluted earnings per share was 0.13p, compared to 0.19p.

North River Resources Plc (NRRP.L) Announced, in its update for Mining Licence application for the Namib Project, that the on-going discussions with the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Namibia were constructive and encouraging but the company does not expect currently the Mining Licence to be issued by the end of October 2015, as it is the date which is assumed by the company for its recently completed Phase One Fundraising before which the Mining Licence would need to be issued in order to allow a construction decision to be made by the end of this calendar year. The company is reviewing its strategy and timing to bring the Project to a construction decision and expects to complete this review and provide a detailed announcement in the near-term.

Octagonal Plc (OCT.L) Announced, in its trading statement, that its wholly owned subsidiary Global Investment Strategy UK Ltd, has reported an unaudited net operating profit of £585,000 for the 6 months to 30 September 2015 on revenues of £2,088,000; this represents an increase in turnover of over 32% compared to the corresponding period of 2014. Aggregate trade volumes exceeded 47,800 for the 6 month period, representing an increase of 34.5% over the corresponding period of 2014. The company will publish its interim results for the 6 month period ended 30 September 2015 as soon as practicable.

Oilex Limited (OEX.L) Announced, in its quarterly report 30 September 2015, the preparation of the five well workover campaign largely completed during the quarter. Temporary pipeline from Cambay-77H pad to Cambay-73 production facility completed and operational. Three Cambay legacy wells connected to the temporary pipeline and supplying gas on an intermittent basis. Techno-commercial evaluation for 13 of 14 tenders for the Cambay 2015/2016 drilling campaign nearly complete. During the quarter construction of the gas production facility commenced, with construction expected to be completed in November 2015. Moreover, Bhandut-3 production test results have resulted in an upgrade to previous internal estimate of 2C Contingent Resource to ~425MMscf. The company further announced a two tranche placement and underwritten rights issue to raise $30 million. Issue of Zeta Deferred Shares and convertible notes to raise $9.4 million, approved by Shareholders at a General Meeting on 12 August 2015.

Pets At Home Group Plc (PETS.L) Announced, in its trading statement for 1H16 that its like-for-like sales grew 1.8%, driven by strength in advanced nutrition, VIP club, services and omnichannel, offset by continuing seasonal challenge to health & hygiene products, alongside evolution in mix in selected grocery and accessories categories. Its merchandise like-for-like revenue grew 1.0%. Its services like-for-like revenue rose 10.5%. Its total revenue increased 6.0% from the comparable period to £404.5 million.

Premier Technical Services Group Plc (PTSG.L) Announced that on 29 October 2015 it completed the acquisition of JW Gray, for a total consideration of £1.1 million, payable in cash on completion.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS.L) Announced, in its interim trading statement, that Q3 attributable profit was £952 million, up slightly from £896 million in Q3 2014. Restructuring costs remained high at £847 million as the Go-forward Bank transforms, while litigation and conduct costs were £129 million compared with £780 million in Q3 2014. Attributable profit included (in profit from discontinued operations) the gain on loss of control of Citizens (£1,147 million). The principal component of this gain was a reclassification of foreign exchange reserves of £962 million to profit or loss with no effect on RBS’s net asset value. Meanwhile, Q3 operating loss was £134 million, down from a profit of £1,107 million in Q3 2014. Adjusted operating profit was £842 million (Q3 2014 – £2,054 million), after £126 million of losses relating to IFRS volatility, and £77 million of CIB disposal losses. It is on track with its plan to build a stronger, simpler, fairer bank for customers and shareholders. Capital strength continued to build with the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio strengthening to 12.7% at 30 September 2015, up 40 basis points from 30 June 2015 and 150 basis points from 31 December 2014. RBS’s leverage ratio rose from 4.6% at 30 June 2015 to 5.0% at 30 September 2015, assisted by the successful issue of $3.15 billion (£2 billion) of Additional Tier 1 capital notes in August 2015. Moreover, it announced that it has sold all of its remaining shareholding in Citizens Financial Group Inc. (“CFG” or “Citizens”) in an underwritten public follow-on offering (“the Offering”). The Offering is approximately 110 million shares of Citizens’ common stock, equivalent to 20.9% of CFG’s issued and outstanding common stock.

SerVision Plc (SEV.L) Announced that SerVision UK Limited, the group’s recently incorporated wholly owned UK subsidiary, has been approved as a supplier for a major global logistics company to supply and install the company’s unique end-to-end telematics CCTV security system. The initial expected value to the company for this first project, which is due to commence on 9 November 2015, is approximately £225,000 and the initial purchase orders have now been received in relation to the sale and installation of the video and ancillary equipment. An additional service and maintenance element, to be paid on a monthly basis throughout the life of the product, will be the subject of a separate agreement which is currently under negotiation.

UK Commercial Property Trust Limited (UKCM.L) Announced third interim dividend payment, in respect of the financial period from 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2015, of 0.92 pence per share.

Vectura Group Plc (VEC.L) Announced that US FDA has approved new dual combination bronchodilator UtibronT NeohalerR and stand-alone monotherapy SeebriT NeohalerR for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It further announced that a cash milestone has been triggered by the successful achievement of a further development milestone associated with VR632 in the EU. VR632 is a generic, inhaled combination therapy for asthma/COPD delivered using Vectura’s proprietary dry powder inhaler and formulation technology.

Westminster Group Plc (WSG.L) Announced the issue of 2,630,351 ordinary shares of 10p each pursuant to the conversion of loan notes by Darwin Capital Ltd and which completes Darwin’s entitlement to convert in this calendar year. The company has received a notice of exercise by Darwin to convert £300,000 zero coupon senior unsecured convertible loan notes, into equity. Details in relation to the convertible loan notes were set out in the company’s announcement dated 22 April 2015. In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure and Transparency Rules, the company hereby announces that following Admission it will have 63,441,538 ordinary shares of 10p each in issue, none of which are held in treasury. Therefore, the total number of voting rights in the company is 63,441,538.

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