UK Broker Upgrades / Downgrades
Code | Company | Broker | Recomm. From | Recomm. To | Price From | Price To |
Upgrades | ||||||
BARC | Barclays Plc | Investec Securities | Sell | Buy | ||
DCG | Dairy Crest Group Plc | Jefferies International | Buy | Buy | 535 | 640 |
LLOY | Lloyds Banking Group Plc | Investec Securities | Hold | Buy | ||
NEX | National Express Group Plc | HSBC | Hold | Buy | 330 | |
Downgrades | ||||||
HOME | Home Retail Group Plc | Barclays Capital | Equal weight | Underweight | ||
S32 | South32 Ltd | Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | 121 | 112 |
SGC | Stagecoach Group Plc | HSBC | Buy | Hold | 390 | |
Initiate/Neutral/Unchanged | ||||||
AHT | Ashtead Group Plc | Jefferies International | Buy | Buy | 1385 | 1385 |
ALD | Allied Gold Mining Plc | Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | 290 | 290 |
BATS | British American Tobacco Plc | Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | ||
BNZL | Bunzl Plc | Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | 2000 | 2000 |
BNZL | Bunzl Plc | Jefferies International | Hold | Hold | 1800 | 1800 |
IMT | Imperial Tobacco Group Plc | Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | ||
PTEC | Playtech Ltd | Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | 1040 | 1040 |
RMG | Royal Mail Plc | Jefferies International | Underperform | Underperform | 360 | 360 |
S32 | South32 Ltd | Jefferies International | Hold | Hold | 85 | 85 |
US Broker Upgrades / Downgrades
Code | Company | Broker | Recomm. From | Recomm. To | Price From | Price To |
Upgrades | ||||||
ANF | Abercrombie & Fitch | Piper Jaffray | Neutral | Overweight | $25 | $27 |
MDRX | Allscripts Healthcare Solutions | Argus | Hold | Buy | $17 | $17 |
AZO | AutoZone | BofA Merrill Lynch | Neutral | Buy | ||
BAC | Bank of America | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Outperform | $20 | $20 |
BMY | Bristol-Myers Squibb | Piper Jaffray | Underweight | Neutral | ||
CSTE | Caesarstone Sdot-Yam | Barclays | Equal weight | Overweight | $63 | $59 |
FUN | Cedar Fair | Hilliard Lyons | Long-term Buy | Buy | ||
CVX | Chevron | BofA Merrill Lynch | Underperform | Neutral | ||
CHU | China Unicom Hong Kong | Jefferies | Hold | Buy | ||
CCIH | ChinaCache International Holdings | Rosenblatt | Neutral | Buy | $10 | $9 |
CMA | Comerica | Robert W. Baird | Underperform | Neutral | $44 | $44 |
WDGJF | John Wood Group PLC | Numis | Hold | Buy | ||
NSRGY | Nestle | Kepler | Hold | Buy | ||
NKE | NIKE | Telsey Advisory Group | Market Perform | Outperform | $115 | $122 |
ZEUS | Olympic Steel | Jefferies | Hold | Buy | ||
QCOM | Qualcomm | Standpoint Research | Hold | Buy | ||
GOLD | Randgold Resources | RBC Capital Markets | Sector Perform | Outperform | ||
ROST | Ross Stores | Buckingham Research | Neutral | Buy | $60 | $60 |
RDS.A | Royal Dutch Shell | Jefferies | Hold | Buy | ||
SRPT | Sarepta Therapeutics | Piper Jaffray | Neutral | Overweight | $28 | $48 |
SWM | Schweitzer-Mauduit International | Sidoti | Neutral | Buy | ||
TCO | Taubman Centers | Oppenheimer | Perform | Outperform | $85 | $85 |
TUES | Tuesday Morning | Stifel | Hold | Buy | $9 | $9 |
VEOEY | Veolia Environnement | Goldman Sachs | Neutral | Buy | ||
WCC | Wesco International | Standpoint Research | Hold | Buy | $68 | $68 |
Downgrades | ||||||
FOXA | Twenty-First Century Fox | Needham | Buy | Hold | ||
ARG | Airgas | Robert W. Baird | Outperform | Neutral | $111 | $111 |
AVGO | Avago Technologies | Drexel Hamilton | Hold | Sell | $125 | $95 |
BTLCY | British Land | Jefferies | Hold | Underperform | ||
CJES | C&J Energy Services | Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey | Buy | Neutral | $11 | $4 |
CLR | Continental Resources | BofA Merrill Lynch | Buy | Neutral | ||
DWSN | Dawson Geophysical | Raymond James | Outperform | Market Perform | ||
EVEP | EV Energy Partners | Robert W. Baird | Neutral | Underperform | $13 | $5 |
FAST | Fastenal | Robert W. Baird | Outperform | Neutral | $45 | $44 |
HMSNF | Hammerson PLC | Jefferies | Hold | Underperform | ||
HFC | HollyFrontier | BofA Merrill Lynch | Neutral | Underperform | ||
LSGOF | Land Securities Group PLC | Jefferies | Buy | Hold | ||
MRO | Marathon Oil | BofA Merrill Lynch | Buy | Neutral | ||
MPC | Marathon Petroleum | BofA Merrill Lynch | Neutral | Underperform | ||
MCHP | Microchip Technology | Drexel Hamilton | Buy | Hold | ||
MSCC | Microsemi | Drexel Hamilton | Buy | Hold | ||
NBL | Noble Energy | BofA Merrill Lynch | Buy | Neutral | ||
RES | RPC | Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey | Buy | Neutral | ||
RYI | Ryerson Holding | Jefferies | Buy | Hold | ||
SSE | Seventy Seven Energy | Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey | Buy | Neutral | ||
SDXAY | Sodexo | Goldman Sachs | Buy | Neutral | ||
TI | Telecom Italia | Macquarie | Neutral | Underperform | ||
TEF | Telefonica S.A. | Macquarie | Neutral | Underperform | ||
THOR | Thoratec | Leerink Partners | Outperform | Market Perform | ||
THOR | Thoratec | Raymond James | Outperform | Market Perform | ||
SLCA | U.S. Silica Holdings | Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey | Buy | Neutral | ||
VLO | Valero Energy | BofA Merrill Lynch | Neutral | Underperform | ||
VTL | Vital Therapies | Credit Suisse | Outperform | Neutral | $9 | $9 |
VTL | Vital Therapies | Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey | Buy | Neutral | ||
GWW | W.W. Grainger | Robert W. Baird | Outperform | Neutral | $258 | $240 |
WLL | Whiting Petroleum | BofA Merrill Lynch | Buy | Neutral | ||
Initiated | ||||||
BABA | Alibaba Group Holding | Standpoint Research | Buy | $84 | ||
CYRN | CYREN | Craig Hallum | Buy | |||
JCI | Johnson Controls | Credit Suisse | Neutral | |||
JUNO | Juno Therapeutics | Standpoint Research | Buy | $47 | ||
M | Macy’s | Standpoint Research | Buy | $72 | ||
NK | NantKwest | Piper Jaffray | Overweight | $38 | ||
NK | NantKwest | MLV & Co | Buy | $35 | ||
NK | NantKwest | Citigroup | Buy | $45 | ||
NK | NantKwest | Jefferies | Buy | $33 | ||
PNFP | Pinnacle Financial Partners | Piper Jaffray | Neutral | |||
PAA | Plains All American Pipeline | Scotia Howard Weil | Sector Outperform | $40 | ||
PAGP | Plains GP Holdings | Scotia Howard Weil | Sector Perform | $22 | ||
SCMP | Sucampo Pharmaceuticals | H.C. Wainwright | Buy | $31 | ||
TOWN | Towne Bank | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | |||
UAL | United Continental Holdings | Standpoint Research | Buy | $70 | ||
VTVT | vTv Therapeutics | Piper Jaffray | Overweight | $24 | ||
VTVT | vTv Therapeutics | Stifel | Buy | $17 | ||
ZBRA | Zebra Technologies | Morgan Stanley | Overweight | $115 |
Key UK Corporate Snapshots Today
Al Noor Hospitals Group Plc (ANH.L) Announced, in its results for the six months ended 30th June, 2015, that revenue stood at $243.97 million, compared to $224.78 million in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at $45.13 million, compared to $46.24 million. Profit after tax was $44.88 million, compared to $45.63 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at 35.9c, compared to 37.9c.
Antofagasta Plc (ANTO.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenues declined to $1,785.9 million from $2,601.8 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit after tax widened to $799.0 million from $571.6 million. Basic earnings per share stood at 71.6 cents, up from 33.6 cents. The Board has recommended a final dividend for the first half of 2015 of 3.1 cents per ordinary share.
Cluff Natural Resources Plc (CLNR.L) Announced, in its results for six months ended 30 June 2015, that operating loss fell to £0.750 million from £0.822 million posted in the same period preceding year. The company’s loss before tax stood at £0.744 million, compared to a loss of £0.809 million reported in the previous year. The basic and diluted loss per share stood at 0.43p compared to loss of 0.52p reported in the previous year. The company’s cash balance was seen at £1.9 million (2014: £2.2 million).
Falkland Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL.L) Announced, in its half year results for six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenues loss from operations was seen at $2.15 million from a loss of $2.18 million posted in the same period preceding year. The company’s loss before tax stood at $1.95 million, compared to a loss of $1.29 million reported in the previous year. The basic and diluted loss per share stood at 0.37c compared to loss of 0.24c reported in the previous year. The company’s cash balance stood at $40.1 million compared to $68.5 million last year.
Image Scan Holdings Plc (IGE.L) Announced that it has made the first customer deliveries of both its new ThreatScanR-LS1 portable X-ray detector panel and ThreatSpect, its new modular control and display software.
James Fisher and Sons Plc (FSJ.L) Announced, in its half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenue stood at £213.06 million, compared to £216.08 million in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at £20.06 million, compared to £23.32 million. Profit after tax was £15.25 million, compared to £16.62 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at 30.0p, compared to 32.0p. The board has increased the interim dividend by 10% to 7.80p per share (2014: 7.10p).
Magnolia Petroleum Plc (MAGP.L) Announced, in its update on current production and an independent Reserves Report as at 1 June 2015, on its leases in US onshore formations such as the Woodford and Mississippi Lime, Oklahoma, and the Bakken and Three Forks Sanish, North Dakota, that net production stood at 309 boepd as at 1 August 2015 compared to 281 boepd on 1 January 2015. Skunk Creek wells came online in February 2015 and added an average of 32.3 boepd net production. 4 wells have recently commenced production in which the company has an average 0.68% working interest. Total net proved reserves (1P) of 873 Mbbl of oil and condensate and 2,454 MMcf gas as at 1 June 2015. Total net proved and probable reserves (2P) of 930 Mbbl of oil and condensate and 2,660 MMcf gas. Total net proved, probable and possible reserves (3P) of 998 Mbbl of oil and condensate and 2,828 MMcf gas.
Mwana Africa Plc (MWA.L) Announced, in its update on operations and exploration activity for the quarter ended 30 June 2015, that tonnes milled decreased by 0.3% to 293,759t in Q1 FY2016 compared to 297,953t in Q4 FY2015 due to a 1% decrease in mill running time. The average feed grade for Q1 FY2016 increased by 11% from 1.81g/t in Q4 FY2015 to 2.03g/t. Gold recovery rate for Q1 FY2016 declined by 1% to 82% from 83% in Q4 FY2015. 16,985 ounces (oz) of gold were produced in Q1 FY2016 against 13,443oz in Q4 FY2015. The production increase was mainly due to the 11% increase in the mill’s average feed grade. C1 cash costs were 25% lower in the quarter under review at $930/oz from $1,234/oz in Q4 FY2015 largely because of an increase in ounces produced and a 5% reduction in operating costs. All-in sustaining costs were reduced by 24% to $1,093/oz from $1,429/oz in Q4 FY2015. The average gold price received in Q1 FY2016 was 3% lower at $1,186/oz compared to $1,223/oz in Q4 FY2015
MXC Capital Limited (MXCP.L) Announced that the proposed acquisition of the entire issued share capital of MXC Holdings and the conditional issue of 1,649,089,816 new Ordinary Shares is conditional upon, inter alia, approval by Shareholders of a resolution to disapply the application of Rule 9 of the City Code in relation to certain interests in the Company following the Acquisition at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company.
Nostrum Oil & Gas Plc (NOG.L) Announced, in its half year results for six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenues slumped to $274.0 million from $445.0 million posted in the same period preceding year. The company’s cash balance stood at $238.1 million compared to $458.2 million last year.
Oilex Limited (OEX.L) Announced, in its operations update, that Cambay-73 well continues to produce gas for the low pressure market in the immediate vicinity of the field at ~26 boepd with 100% availability. A temporary pipeline from Cambay-77H site to Cambay-73 production facility has been completed as part of a gas gathering system to assist in meeting market demand. Three legacy wells have been connected to this pipeline and provide additional gas to the low pressure market via the Cambay-73 production facility. Bhandut-3 production facility construction has commenced and its gas Contingent Resource increased to ~425MMscf. Techno-commercial evaluation for 13 of 14 tenders for the Cambay 2015/2016 drilling campaign is underway. In conjunction with the marketing effort, a field development plan has been prepared for the initial gross 20Bcf that is anticipated to be established and produced through a 5MMscfd gas treatment plant located near the Cambay-77H site.
Ortac Resources Limited (OTC.L) Announced that it has today exercised the call option agreement, detailed in the 30 March 2015 announcement, with Zamsort Limited, a private company registered in Zambia that holds a prospective Cu-Co mining and exploration licence in the Zambian Copper Belt. On 30 March 2015 the company subscribed for secured convertible loan notes, convertible into a 10.71% stake in Zamsort Limited and entered into the option. The exercise of the option by way of a further $600,000 secured convertible loan note, takes the total invested by the company in Zamsort to $1.2 million and, upon conversion of the loan notes, the company’s potential shareholding in Zamsort would be 19.35% of the issued share capital of Zamsort.
Ovoca Gold Plc (OVG.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that loss after tax widened to €1.0 million from €0.5 million. Cash and cash equivalents and available for sale financial assets were €19 million as at 30 June 2015.
Petrofac Limited (PFC.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015 that revenues rose 25% to $3.2 billion from $2.5 billion recorded in the same period a year ago. Underlying net profit narrowed 4% to $130 million (2014: $136 million). Group backlog stood at $20.9 billion as at 30 June 2015. The board maintained its interim dividend at 22.00 cents per share (2014: 22.00 cents). Net debt as of 30 June 2015 stood at $1.0 billion.
Polymetal International Plc (POLY.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenue decreased by 11% to $648 million compared to 1H 2014. Group Total cash cost were $552 per gold equivalent ounce (“GE oz”), down 14% compared to 2H 2014 (half-on-half) and down 12% year-on-year. Net earnings were $98 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $297 million, a decrease of 4% compared to 1H 2014. Net debt as at 30 June 2015 decreased by $18 million to $1,231 million. Separately, the company announced that it has resolved to pay an interim dividend of $0.08 per ordinary share for the six months ended 30 June 2015 (1H 2014: $0.08) which represents 30% of the Group’s underlying net earnings for 1H 2015 or approximately $34 million.
Poundland Group Plc (PLND.L) Announced that Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published its preliminary findings with respect to its Phase 2 review of the company’s proposed acquisition of 99p Stores Ltd (“99p Stores”). The CMA has provisionally concluded that the merger may not be expected to result in a substantial reduction in the competition and has therefore provisionally cleared the anticipated acquisition of 99p Stores. The company is studying the report’s findings in detail and looks forward to working further with the CMA ahead of the publication of the full review in October.
Regus Plc (RGU.L) Announced, in its half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenue stood at £937.0 million, compared to £804.7 million in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at £86.3 million, compared to £39.9 million. Profit after tax was £67.2 million, compared to £24.8 million. Diluted earnings per share after exceptional items stood at 7.0p, compared to 2.6p. The board has increased the 2015 interim dividend by 12% to 1.4p per share (H1 2014: 1.25p). Additionally, the company also announced that it will be hosting a capital markets day for analysts and investors on Tuesday 6th October 2015 in London, between 1.00pm and 5.30pm. The event will focus on business strategy and operations and will be hosted by Mark Dixon, Chief Executive Officer and Dominique Yates, Chief Financial Officer, alongside senior members of the company operational and regional management teams.
RSA Insurance Group Plc (RSA.L) Announced that it has received a revised proposal from Zurich Insurance Group (“Zurich”) regarding a possible all cash offer for the Company at 550p per ordinary RSA share. In addition, under the terms of the proposal, RSA ordinary shareholders retain the right to receive the 3.5p interim dividend announced by RSA on 6 August 2015. The Possible Offer is conditional on, amongst other things, due diligence and the recommendation of the Board. The Board has indicated to Zurich that it would be willing to recommend an offer at the level of the Possible Offer to RSA shareholders subject to the satisfactory resolution of the other terms of the offer. Accordingly, the Board is in discussions with Zurich in relation to these terms.
Shawbrook Group Plc (SHAW.L) Announced that Paul Lawrence has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the company with effect from 24 August 2015. The company also announced that Paul will be the Chairman of the Board Risk Committee and a member of the Board Audit Committee.
Tavistock Investments Plc (TAVI.L) Announced, in its results for 15 months ended March 2015, that revenues surged to £4.9 million from £0.176 million posted in the same period preceding year. The company’s loss before tax stood at £0.983 million, compared to a loss of £0.516 million reported in the previous year. The basic loss per share stood at 0.85p compared to loss of 7.36p reported in the previous year. The company’s cash balance was seen at £4.7 million (31 December 2014: £0.324 million).