9th Dec 2020 10:55
(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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National Grid, up 2.5%. Citigroup upgraded the power lines operator to Buy from Neutral following regulatory clarity in the UK. On Tuesday, Ofgem said that it will not be cutting the amount energy networks can give to shareholders by as much as originally planned.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Fresnillo, down 1.8%, Polymetal International, down 1.5%. The gold miners tracking spot gold prices lower. Gold was trading at USD1,857.28 an ounce Wednesday morning, down from USD1,869.75 late Tuesday.
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Pearson, down 0.7%. Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded the educational publisher to Reduce from Hold.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Howden Joinery, up 7.5%. The kitchens and joinery products company said it is now expecting its annual pretax profit to exceed the top end of current analyst forecasts by "around 10%". Howdens said that since its November announcement, trading has stayed strong with revenue from Howdens UK depots for November 1 to November 28 up 19% year-on-year and 17% on a same depot basis. For the year to date, total UK revenue was 5.1% lower year-on-year. The company said its gross margin guidance remains unchanged and with its "continued recent strong trading performance". Howdens is now expecting its pretax profit for its financial year ending December 2020 to be around 10% above the top end of current analyst forecasts. Howdens said the pretax profit expectations range is believed to be GBP123 million to GBP152 million. "Its latest trading update has smashed expectations, rubbishing the idea that the wave of lockdown-inspired home projects earlier this year was nothing more than a short-lived fad. The scale of outperformance would suggest market forecasts will have to be significantly upgraded," said AJ Bell's Russ Mould.
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Vistry Group, up 6.5%. The housebuilder said it will consider reinstating its dividend, as it expects to deliver annual pretax profit at the top end of the guided range of GBP130 million to GBP140 million. In November, Vistry had confirmed its intention to resume dividend payments earlier than previously expected with an interim payment payable next November in respect of 2021, with a 2.5 times dividend cover and a progressive policy thereafter. However, given the strong performance and accelerated deleverage, Vistry said it will consider reinstating a "modest" final dividend in respect of 2020. Large-cap peers, Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley Group, Persimmon and Barratt Developments were up 3.3%, 3.0%, 2.5% and 1.8% respectively - in a positive read-across.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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SSP Group, down 2.5%. Berenberg started coverage on the travel concessions operator with a Hold rating.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]
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Related Shares:
PearsonNational GridHowden JoineryBerkeley GroupSSP GroupBarratt DevelopmentsPersimmonPOLY.LFresnilloTaylor WimpeyVistry Grp