Pets At Home Group (PETS)

Better than expect profit growth from veterinary services and pet product supplier Pets at Home (PETS) has put a rocket under its share price. The stock is up 10% to 164p after it reported a 6.1% rise in underlying profit to £89.7m. The company has slashed prices in the face of competition and although this has seen gross margins slump 1.22% in 2019 it has resulted in positive like-for-like ...

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 ...

While the performance of the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and FTSE All-Share tends to dominate the headlines, it can be useful to take a more nuanced approach and focus on the performance of individual sectors within these headline indices. The tables show the five best and five worst performing sectors in the FTSE 350 index (a composite of the large cap FTSE 100 and mid cap FTSE 250) so far this ...

Long in the doghouse with investors, pet care specialist Pets at Home (PETS) perks up 8.1% to 135.7p on news of a solid Christmas and confirmation the retailer is on track to meet full year guidance, assuaging fears over a potential profit warning. Despite wider retail sector doom and gloom, today’s update demonstrates there are resilient retail niches such as the pet care market, and also ...

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 ...

Holidays provider Thomas Cook (TCG) has issued its second profit warning in three months and axed its dividend as it struggles to against a slump in bookings. In September the sun and sea breaks operator blamed this year’s flaming hot summer weather for a cut to its full year underlying profit forecast, slashing guidance from £323m to £280m. Thomas Cook now expects underlying earnings ...

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 ...

Consumer-facing firms in the restaurant, leisure and hotel sectors could be worst affected by a 4.9% increase in the national living wage to £8.21 next April, as announced in last month’s Budget. Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management has used its in-house research tool to identify listed businesses with the highest percentage of wages to sales, flagging the likes of Halfords (HFD), Pets at ...

Veterinary services provider CVS (CVSG:AIM) scurries in with very resilient full year results and management sees a ‘very promising’ outlook for the business. Despite the squeeze on UK consumers’ disposable income, the Diss-headquartered concern says like-for-like sales growth has ‘remained robust since the year end’. Yet the shares are off 2.8% at 994.5p as Brexit-induced European ...

The surprise sale of Whitbread’s (WTB) Costa Coffee business to Coca-Cola for £3.9bn on 31 August is sparking a debate over who could be next to buckle under the influence of activist investors. For the activist funds with stakes in Whitbread, Sachem Head and Elliott, the deal is a victory, helping to achieve their aim of generating more value by splitting up the Costa Coffee business from ...

A Mexican themed restaurant, a Welsh builders’ merchant, T-shirts seller Weird Fish and the UK’s second biggest pet store chain are among the eclectic band of investments held within F&C Private Equity Trust (FPEO). And while the six months to 30 June was muted in net asset value (NAV) growth terms, investment manager Hamish Mair (pictured below) expects the second half ‘will see ...

People are always looking for bargains, whether they are shopping for shoes, a dream holiday or even stocks and shares. However, some companies trade on cheap valuations for a reason, and even if their discounted rating is unwarranted a catalyst is required to unlock this value. Stocks which are justifiably cheap, or lack catalysts can be called ‘value traps’. DEBENHAMS: CHEAP FOR A VERY ...

Lately-unloved pet care specialist Pets at Home (PETS) scurries almost 11% higher to 125.3p on a positive first quarter trading statement. The pet food-to-veterinary services business has generated good like-for-like growth in both its retail and veterinary practice operations in the 16 weeks to 19 July. With concerns over competition and faltering consumer confidence weighing on the share ...

Although the momentum of the blue-chip benchmark has stalled since it hit new record highs in late May, London’s FTSE 100 recovers some of yesterday’s losses early on, ticking 39 points higher to 7,615. In corporate news, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) rises 3.1% to 257.8p as half year results not only reveal adjusted profitability comfortably ahead of consensus forecasts, but the bank also ...

Mining companies act as a drag on early deals on London’s stock market on Tuesday capping gains for a record-setting FTSE 100. The UK’s blue-chip index closed at 7,853.17 on Monday. In early trades on Tuesday the index is limited to single-digit progress, nudging the FTSE 100 to 7,860.62. There’s also shock news that energy watchdog Ofgem has opened an investigation into National Grid's ...

Analysts at investment bank Liberum see a widening gap between winners and losers in the retail industry. Importantly this isn’t just divided between traditional bricks and mortar outfits and their online rivals, as has been the case in the recent past. They see some online names as vulnerable and think more traditional players operating in the value segment of the market like Primark-owner ...

The collapse of public sector contractor Carillion (CLLN) earlier in January 2018 made millions in profit for a handful of investment sceptics. Hedge funds and other sophisticated investors have coined it in through a process called short selling, or shorting. It involves placing a bet that a share price will fall. If the shares do decline in value, then the person shorting the stock makes a ...

Budget airline easyJet (EZJ) soars 5.5% to £16.49 as its passenger numbers increase by 8% to 18.8m in its first quarter. For the three-month period ending 31 December, the airline has increased its total revenue by 14.4% to £1.14bn and has completed the acquisition of Air Berlin. At the end of quarter, the company had a net cash position of £357m. THE FTSE 100 is rallying early on ...

Anyone concerned about toppy-looking equity markets, rising inflation and the uncertainties arising from Brexit may wish to look at The Bankers Investment Trust (BNKR). It has a range of characteristics which could potentially help beat the aforementioned pressures and deliver a positive outcome for investors. Investing globally with a goal of generating higher long-term returns than UK ...

Pet pampering retailer Pets at Home (PETS) is in the doghouse as it posts an 11.3% drop in pre-tax profit to £40.8m in the six months to 12 October as online rivals pressure its margins. Gross margin fell from 53.9% to 51.9%, which was mainly dragged down by the company’s merchandise division. This was due to the impact of competitive pricing, a greater mix of lower margin food products ...