Babcock International Group (BAB)

Shares in aerospace and defence firm Babcock International (BAB) gain 4% to 483p after the company confirmed weekend press reports that it has been approached by outsourcing group Serco (SRP). According to today’s press release, Babcock received an ‘unsolicited and highly preliminary proposal’ from Serco in late January regarding a potential all-share combination between the two ...

UK investors begin the week with takeover talk to digest after defence contractor Babcock (BAB) admits it turned down approaches of a tie-up from outsourcing peer Serco (SRP). There is also a strategy overhaul reported by troubled construction firm Kier (KIE) and a profit warning from German airline Lufthansa to mull, the latter hurting UK listed airlines that have been struggling with rising ...

Defence contractor Babcock International (BAB) just can’t seem to catch a break. Despite reporting full year results which were in line with its most recent latest guidance the share price has tanked today, falling more than 10% to 450p, close to a 10-year low. That fact underlying revenues for the year to 31 March 2019 fell 3.8% to £6.16bn and operating profits, also on an underlying ...

UK investors are on the front foot in early trade on Wednesday as they eye the promise of progress on a softer Brexit deal and are buoyed by firm markets in New York and Asia overnight. The benchmark FTSE 100 opens roughly 34 points higher at 7,362.92, closing on May highs of 7,385, and batting off a series of corporate announcement disappoints. They include Marks & Spencer ...

UK stocks fall in line with continental Europe and US index futures as worries over the strength of the US economy begin to weigh on sentiment. In early trade the FTSE 100 index gives up almost 2% to 6,792.10, a new two-year low, while the FTSE 250 gives up 1.5% to a low for the year of 17,995 points. Tomorrow sees the release of three closely-watched indicators of the health of the US economy ...

All eyes are on Royal Mail (RMG) ahead of the FTSE 100 re-shuffle next Tuesday. With the shares trading down another 2% to 317p on Friday, its current market capitalisation of just over £3.2bn. That puts it in 119th spot in terms of valuation on the UK stock market, well below the 110th place cut-off, meaning it will automatically be ejected from the blue-chip index. This sums up a ...

Shares in Indivior (INDV) have more than halved in value since 20 November and are now trading at an all-time low of 96.52p thanks to a court injunction being lifted on rival Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. The latter is trying to launch a generic version of Indivior’s opioid treatment, Suboxone. Jefferies analyst James Vane-Tempest warns ‘seismic changes’ are needed to salvage ...

It is important to take a balanced view when doing your research either for new investment ideas or to justify keeping current holdings in your portfolio. You should consider the positive investment case and also the challenges and headwinds facing a business, as well as any flaws in its decision making, structure or corporate culture, for example. Many investors find it easier to work out ...

Shares in defence and nuclear contractor Babcock (BAB) sunk to a seven-year low after half year results failed to calm shredded investor nerves over key issues. Earlier this month the company responded to press reports that it was set to report £100m of provisions by saying that the net cash costs of restructuring would not be material. Today it revealed £120m of provisions, £80m of ...

UK blue-chip stocks make early gains in early trade on Wednesday with the FTSE 100 up 0.7%, or roughly 48 points, to 6,996 despite heavy losses in US and Asian markets overnight. Across the pond the US S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices both posted heavy declines, falling by about 1.8% a piece as leading global technology stocks, including Apple, Amazon and Facebook, continue to come under ...

Defence contractor and engineering group Babcock International (BAB) has today published a response to a bear raid note put out last month. Babcock pulled on punches, saying it ‘strongly refutes’ what it calls ‘many false and malicious statements’ contained in the report issued by little-known trading firm Boatman Capital. Bear raid attacks such as this are designed to drive the ...

Cigarettes giant British American Tobacco (BATS) heads the FTSE 100 lower board on Monday following newspaper reports that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to ban menthol cigarettes. The story emerged from the Wall Street Journal over the weekend and it has got investors in BAT worried, with shares in the group slumping 9% in early trade to £31.07. BAT owns Newport, which is the ...

One of Europe’s biggest home improvement retailers, B&Q-owner Kingfisher (KGF) reported a 15% fall in half year profits after a poor performance in France. Pre-tax profits fell 30.1% to £281m for the six months to the 31 July. The group said the business in France, Castorama ‘remains weak’, which is a blow to investors whom might have hoped for more encouraging noises. That’s ...

Pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap sports and leisure goods retailers Sports Direct (SPD) has taken an £85m hit from its investments in struggling Debenhams, it which it has a strategic stake of just under 30%. The news comes alongside full year results showing pre-tax profit falling 72.5% to £77.5m with Debenhams (DEB) having an £85.4m impact due to ‘current year fair value ...

Shares in British engineering company Babcock (BAB) are starting to recovery after a terrible period on the stock market. The £3.9bn company saw its share price fall by more than 40% between September 2016 and February 2018 (from £10.90 to 626p) as investors feared it would be the next outsourcing company to fall foul of contract delays, political intervention and financial ...

London’s high-flying FTSE 100 goes into reverse on Wednesday, off 50.8 points to 7,826.6 and following a similar pattern seen with Asian stocks earlier today as markets reacted to comments from US president Donald Trump regarding dissatisfaction with the latest round of trade talks with China. The commodities sector is the worst hit with shares in miners and oil producers taking a tumble, not ...

Engineering support services company Babcock (BAB) buoyed its investors with an upbeat trading update in February. Will this positive sentiment be maintained when it releases full year results on 23 May? In February the company said both earnings and cash conversion would be in line with guidance and that its debt to earnings ratio would be reduced to 1.7 ...

UK investors batten down the hatches in early trade on Tuesday as the bloodbath on global stock markets continues. Asian markets plunged overnight taking the lead of the Dow Jones which registered its largest points fall in history. UK investors are rightly rattled as they ponder whether this is simply a correction after a prolonged run for share prices, or if there is something far more ...

Shares in defence contract outsourcer Babcock (BAB) have been in decline for around three years. Weighing on the stock more recently have been Brexit concerns and a reduction in the Ministry of Defence’s spending. The company’s trading statement in September last year buoyed investors and reversed the depreciation of its share price briefly. Investors will be hoping for good news on 6 ...

The FTSE 100 takes its cue from Friday’s strong session on Wall Street as US lawmakers move closer to passing legislation which would cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. In early trading the index is up 0.55% at 7,531.88. Trading platforms CMC Markets (CMCX) and IG (IGG) fall 14.9% to 142.75p and 10.3% to 657.5p respectively after the European Securities and Markets Authority ...