Whenever there is a discussion about ?quality? UK industrial stocks, the name Spectris (SXS) is often thrown into the ring although we suspect many investors, while being familiar with the company in a general sense, have little idea what it actually does.Looking on Stockopedia, the company has a 99th percentile quality ranking, which backs up its reputation, but it is classified as a large-cap te

Judges Scientific (JDG:AIM) £98.82Market cap: £655 millionScience kit manufacturer Judges Scientific (JDG:AIM) has built up a loyal fan base over the years, both ordinary and professional investors. We continue to see the stock as a core smaller company growth holding that will gradually build value for portfolios, while letting you sleep comfortably at night.Over the past 10 years, the stock ha

In an environment marked by intense global competition and industry disruption, successful mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are increasingly important to the growth and profitability of many companies.Yet research shows most mergers disappoint. Over the decades, multiple studies have shown that mergers and acquisitions fail to generate the anticipated synergies, and many actually destroy value inste

As we approach the end of the year it is an opportune moment to shine a light on some of this year's least-loved stocks.Rather than look at the stocks which have lost the most, we have collected together those trading at or near their lows for the year along with those with the fewest friends in the analyst community and those which the hedge fund community thinks are outright shorts.If we first t

If we conducted a straw poll we've no doubt most readers would have heard of Amersham-based engineering firm Halma (HLMA), but we suspect a much smaller proportion could put their hand up and explain what it does.For a FTSE 100 company with a market cap of £8 billion, Halma seems to operate 'in the background' rather than taking centre stage so we thought it was high time we took an in-depth look

Discerning investors who are looking for well-managed, well-capitalised companies with a sustainable edge have been finding their way to the Stewart Investors Worldwide Sustainability Fund (B7W3061) steadily over the past decade.A £10,000 investment in the fund 10 years ago would be worth £22,372 today, although at the peak towards the end of 2021 it would have been worth just over £28,000 acco

Over the last 15 years the electronics and electronic equipment space, home to some of the UK market's highest-quality engineering and capital goods firms, is the best performing sector in the FTSE 350 with an 11.7% compound annual return.The industrial engineering sector is not too far behind with its own annualised return of 9.7%. For comparison, the FTSE All-Share's annualised return over the s

Companies with regulatory drivers underpinning their business should be highly prized, particularly in the current economic environment. A recent pullback in the share price of ventilation products maker Volution (FAN) has created an opportunity to invest in just such an outfit.The company's quality is reflected in an adjusted operating margin of 21%, achieved despite inflationary pressures, and c

The events of the past three years have completely altered the investment backcloth against which fund managers are trying to earn above-average returns.Fund managers can have an investment framework to operate within, but what do they do when a 'black swan' lands? How do they adapt their strategies and reshuffle portfolios when a once-in-a-century event happens - like a global pandemic or an outb

HALMA (HLMA) £22.77Gain to date: 9%Sometimes the market is hard to please. On 15 June, life-saving technology company Halma (HLMA) reported its twentieth year in a row of record full-year profit and its forty-fourth consecutive year of growing the dividend by 5% or more. However, the share price has since fallen by 6% over the space of three trading days.Admittedly, we're still 11% ahead of our O

London's blue chips closed in the green, shrugging aside concerns of higher borrowing costs, after the European Central Bank and Federal Reserve both signalled more rates rises were on the way.The European Central Bank on Thursday matched the 'hawkish' rhetoric of its US counterpart, although unlike the Federal Reserve, it continued to tighten monetary policy.The Federal Reserve opted against a ra

European shares were mostly lower at midday, after the US Federal Reserve quashed all hope of an interest rate cut this year, while the European Central Bank was set to raise rates again on Thursday.The FTSE 100 index was fractionally higher, up 2.71 points at 7,605.45 midday Thursday. However, the FTSE 250 was down 144.11 points, or 0.8%, at 19,031.39, and the AIM All-Share was down 5.07 points,

Imagine you've been given the choice of investing in three companies. You can choose one of two batches with the intention of holding them for at least five years.The first batch features a rat catcher, a provider of emergency telephones for lifts and a trucking company carrying small loads across the US. Sounds boring, right?The second batch features an American cruise line operator. You also get

Investors instinctively know sectors such as utilities, consumer staples and healthcare are defensive and have historically provided shelter during stock market turbulence. Yet the analysis usually focuses on sector performance alone.This article takes a different approach and seeks to identify stocks within the S&P 500 and FTSE 350 indices which have had the least number of down years over the pa

As 2022 draws to a close amid continuing market volatility Shares has canvassed leading fund managers to find out where they have been finding the best opportunities.Jamie Ross - Henderson Eurotrust (Hne)LOOKING OUT FOR BOMBED-OUT GROWTH STOCKSWe have spent the last 12 months trying to find opportunities within the growthier area of the market - our favoured part of the market and the part of the

Shares in Halma (HLMA) have fallen nearly 40% since the beginning of the year, putting the stock in the bottom quartile for performance among FTSE 100 companies. This means that shares in the company can now be bought at 26 times March 2024 earnings. This represents Halma's lowest valuation in four years, and is roughly the same price to earnings multiple as 2016.The chart shows how the shares hav

There is no question this year has been an extraordinarily difficult one for many companies, who have had to cope with a sharp rise in both operating and financial costs as energy and labour prices have jumped and interest rates have gone up.It is therefore not such a surprise that FTSE 100 chief executives are leaving in record numbers, with over a dozen either having moved already this year or d

- Reckitt chief lands top job at Starbucks- Shell head said to be readying departure- 18 FTSE 100 bosses off to pastures newWhile investors are still mulling over the quarterly FTSE index reshuffle, which saw around a dozen companies change places, the game of boardroom musical chairs seems to have picked up momentum again.Hot on the heels of yesterday's news that the chief executive of Reckitt Be

Pandemic aside, it's been more than two years since investors could buy shares in AIM-quoted SDI (SDI:AIM) on a price to earnings multiple below 20. You can now. The stock currently trades on a forward PE of around 19, and Shares believes investors with an eye for the longer-run recovery of the economy and stock market should invest now.2022 has tossed many a challenge at SDI yet the company has n

Following the collapse of global stock markets this year, many observers may think the 'when to sell' boat has been missed. Not so. History shows that investors consistently get this wrong, buying high and selling low, despite the opposite being the objective.Many investors sit on poorly performing stocks in the hope that they will eventually recover. Others get timing hopelessly backward, selling