Revenue and profit top forecastsAnalysts hold back on upgradesShares climb in line with rivalsWith Barclays (BARC) and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) having already posted first-quarter results and seen their shares rally in response, the onus was on NatWest Group (NWG) not to let the side down and the bank duly delivered a positive update with earnings a touch above estimates despite a weak year-on-

Net interest income fallsCost-to-income ratio jumpsFull-year guidance maintainedThe UK?s largest mortgage lender, Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY), delivered a weak first-quarter trading update with most of the key metrics seemingly heading in the wrong direction.The lack of mention of share buybacks or guidance on the dividend also disappointed investors, however confirmation of the bank?s full-year t

Full year 2024 earnings at top end of guidanceQ4 like-for-like growth deceleratesHas the UK estate matured?Bargain stores giant B&M European Value Retail (BME) said it expects profits for the year ended 30 March 2024 will be at the ?top end? of previous guidance as the cash-generative discounter hailed a year of ?strong operational execution?.Yet shares in the variety goods value retailer softened

Siemens confirms it will not make offerShares fall 4% and remain 35% below highsRenishaw remains a takeover targetWith so many UK firms being picked-off by foreign buyers and private equity, it is refreshing to see German industrial giant Siemens (SIE:ETR) walk away from making an offer for engineering group Renishaw (RSW).That said, investors were not best pleased with the shares falling 4% to £

The world of fantasy is clearly having a moment. The rise of ?romantasy? authors like Sarah J Maas, who has been a big part of UK publishing outfit Bloomsbury?s (BMY) recent success, have taken the genre out of its previous male-dominated realm to a whole new audience.Bloomsbury?s surging sales and the ongoing phenomenon that is Games Workshop (GAW) are two examples on the UK market which show the

Warm weather weighs on Q1 salesPrimark sales growth slows to 7.9%But ABF still confident of profit progressFollowing a slow start to its important first quarter period, Christmas saved the day for Associated British Foods? (ABF) retail arm Primark, the jewel in the foods-to-fashion conglomerate?s crown.Shares in Associated British Foods nudged up 1.5% to £22.99 after the company reported a solid

Total revenue up 1% to £2.97 billionITV biggest faller in the FTSE 250 indexITV Studios revenue was up 9%Shares in ITV (ITV) fell over 6% to 61p in morning trading as the free-to-air broadcaster reported 'flat' revenue for the nine months to 30 September 2023.Total revenue crept up 1% to £2.97 billion compared to £2.95 billion a year ago, something that chief executive Carolyn McCall brushed ov

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURECraig Wright, head of European research, abrdn There is a strong story to tell in the logistics and warehousing sector, which is likely to be an area of significant growth and development all over the globe in the years ahead, particularly in the UK and Europe.E-commerce sales growth in Europe has been led by the UK, followed by the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Irelan

Tracking down your lost pension pots and consolidating them into one place is a good financial admin task to tick off your list - if it suits your circumstances.A £100,000 pension pot switched from a product with total charges of 1.5% to a platform where charges total 0.75% could be worth £11,000 more in 10 years' time or £32,000 more after 20 years.Finding those old pensions can be a lucrative

September is often referred to as 'the cruelest month' in terms of the stock market and so far 2023 shows little sign of bucking that trend.According to a study by Bank of America using data back to 1928, September has typically produced the worst monthly return for the S&P500 by some distance at -1.2%.Moreover, across that whole period the index has only finished the month in positive territory 4

If we think about what packaging companies do, probably the first thing that comes to mind for most of us is getting a brown cardboard box or envelope through the post from Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) with its tell-tale smiley logo.Yet e-commerce is just a small part of the overall business of firms like DS Smith (SMDS), Mondi (MNDI) and Smurfit Kappa (SKG), who together dominate the European market for

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATUREStephen Anness, Head of Global EquitiesIt is the stuff of science fiction - from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Star Trek, Star Wars, Red Dwarf and beyond. The recent launch of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that can answer questions like a human, brings us closer to a world where computers become interchangeable with people in many roles. Schools and univ

Whether or not you are a value investor by nature, we all get a kick out of finding companies which are trading on big discounts to 'fair value'.Rather like Warren Buffett, who claims he buys dollar stocks for 50 cents, we all like to think we can spot a bargain.The problem is identifying fair value, first, then having the courage of our convictions to go for it, second.In the investment trust wor

We suggested at the start of 2023 that commercial property stocks could prove to be a good bet this year, with valuations offering significant upward reversion potential from their depressed levels and dividend yields at the top end of their historic range.While valuations have improved slightly, if anything sentiment is even more negative than it was in January, especially after April's stubbornl

Making the decision to click the buy button and invest your hard-earned cash in a stock is an important step in an investment journey and often the most difficult part.Knowing your money is at risk inevitably makes it tricky to commit and any reticence could mean you miss exciting opportunities.To help you get over this hurdle we are going to look in detail at when you should consider buying a sto

One way to reduce the risks associated with less forgiving markets is to ensure you buy companies at the right valuation. With this in mind Shares has conducted a screening exercise of the market to identify stocks which in our view are too cheap and therefore represent attractive investment opportunities.After running the numbers on discounted stocks with earnings momentum and firms which look ch

- Fourth-quarter profit tops estimates- Medium-term outlook reassures- Share buyback short of expectationsInvestors in Lloyds Banking (LLOY), the last of the high-street lenders to report its 2022 earnings, gave the results and the outlook a cautious welcome but appeared unimpressed by the company's plan to return capital.The shares dipped 2% to 49.8p, sending them close to the bottom of the FTSE

Warren Buffett says the best businesses are ones that can sustainably grow without needing to raise extra money, and on this basis InterContinental Hotels (IHG) ticks the right boxes.The company is one of the world's largest hotel businesses, operating brands such as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and more. With about 888,000 rooms globally, it is estimated to have a market share of

It was in the months following the global financial crisis that Robert started becoming interested in the stock market. In a graduate IT job with Barclays (BARC) based in Canary Wharf, he'd had a front row seat during the teeth of the financial shock, but he has developed his own stocks-only DIY investment style during the decade-plus since.In this article we talk through how he goes about identif

UK equities have had a healthy bounce in the past month with the FTSE 100 index advancing 7.6% and the FTSE 250 rallying 16% since 12 October.The reasons for the sudden about-turn are two-fold - the normalisation of UK government bond yields after they spiked following the political upheaval of the summer and disastrous mini-Budget in September, and generally better-than-expected corporate earning