The week ahead: Autumn Budget, William Hill, easyJet, Compass
17th November 2017 15:58
by Lee Wild from interactive investor
There's plenty to keep investors occupied in the days ahead, with a truckload of corporate updates either side of Wednesday's Autumn Budget.
Monday 20 November
Bookie kicks the week off with third-quarter results. Look for a 3% increase in retail net revenue, 9% jump in online business, 23% increase in the US and 29% in Australia.
That's why broker Investec Securities has just upgraded its rating on the shares from 'hold' to 'buy' and raised the price target by 30p to 300p.
"We expect WMH to outperform , as a result of the Mayweather/McGregor overlay (low hedging), the investment of operational efficiencies into marketing and the advantage of ARC content in July," it says.
Trading Statements
William Hill, NEX Group, TCS Group, Diploma, Progility
AGM/EGM
Tuesday 21 November
Catering giant has traded sideways for months, and they may continue to do so if broker UBS is right.
It rates the shares 'neutral', although its price target shifts up by one pound.
"Compass continues to trade at a significant premium to peers which we believe may be starting to look stretched," the broker writes. "Indeed, over the last three years, Compass traded at c6% PE premium to peers and c44% EV/EBITDA premium to peers.
"We roll forward our multiples from c21x 2017 PE and c21x 2018e PE which results in a new price target of £16.55".
October traffic statistics failed to generate much enthusiasm, and shares have shifted sideways since. Passenger numbers up 9.9% year-on-year to 7.52m and load factor up 2.3 points to 92.5% were broadly similar to the recent trend, reckons Liberum.
The broker is unimpressed and still rates the shares a 'sell' with target set at just 1,100p, implying downside here.
Trading Statements
SIG, Cambria Automobiles, Kingfisher, Spectris, Intertek, Johnson Matthey, Imimobile, Homeserve, De La Rue, Frutarom Industries, Scapa, VP, Telecom plus, Solid State, Severfield, CML Microsystems, Halma, Big Yellow, Babcock International, AO World, AFI Development, Stride Gaming, Utilitywise, Renew Holdings, easyJet, EI Group, Compass, CYBG, Focusrite
AGM/EGM
Harvest Minerals Pan African Resources, Diurnal Group, Jupiter US Smaller Companies
Wednesday 22 November
For our Autumn Budget preview please click here.
Trading Statements
Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Biffa, Accsys Technologies, United Utilities, Assura Group, Creightons, Quiz, NewRiver Retail, Charles Stanley, Eckoh, Thomas Cook, Sage Group, SSP Group, Cambria Automobiles, Creightons, Countryside Properties, Euromoney Institutional Investor
AGM/EGM
SCS Group, Base Resources, Ovoca Gold, Pantheon International, F&C UK Real Estate Investments, CSF Group, Finsbury Food
Thursday 23 November
Trading statements
Rotork, Centrica, Majestic Wine, Severn Trent, First Property, Greencoat Renewables, Caledonia Investments, Liontrust Asset Management, Pets At Home, Hogg Robinson, CMC Markets, Mothercare, Mitchells & Butlers, Paragon Group of Companies
AGM/EGM
Crystal Amber Fund, CAP-XX, Hotel Chocolat Group, Thorpe (F W), Netcall
Friday 24 November
Trading statements
Fuller Smith & Turner, Future
AGM/EGM
Severstal, Origin Enterprises, JPMorgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust, K&C Reit, Coal of Africa, Petra Diamonds
This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.