Fallen 25% om profit warning... one to steer clear of..

250p target here..

HomeServe plc announces the following timetable for the payment of its second interim dividend for 2009/10:

Ex-dividend date
3 March 2010

Record date
5 March 2010

Dividend payment date
1 April 2010

Amount of dividend
24 pence per share

Stay clear.

nice rise but much uncertainty here

however massive interest and buy pressure apparently - opportunity seems to be the buzz word lol

hanging on the last sentence mainly................ this migh be very good - yeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaa

Following the announcement on Monday 31 October regarding the temporary suspension of its sales and marketing activity, HomeServe is updating the market on its current progress. HomeServe restarted inbound telephone sales activity in a limited way on Friday 4 November and has since been progressively increasing the number of retrained staff taking inbound calls and rolling this out on a region by region basis. HomeServe will also be reviewing its direct mail marketing material ahead of the next mailings, which are currently scheduled for the new year. HomeServe has started the process of developing new outbound sales scripts but will only recommence outbound calls when fully confident of meeting the required standards. In relation to complaints from last winter, the company has implemented a process to review all cases. HomeServe will be re-contacting any customers whose complaint may not have been appropriately dealt with to ensure that all issues are fully resolved. HomeServe continues to have a constructive and regular dialogue with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) who have been kept fully informed of all the above actions. HomeServe continues to handle customer claims as usual with over 14,000 home emergency repairs completed during the last week. The company has seen very few customers cancelling their policies.

for the cost of a phone call....

There will be a conference call for analysts and investors at 8.00am on Thursday 10 November via 0203 140 0668, pin 986566#. A replay of the recording will be available via 0203 140 0698 pin 380866#.

one word - yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

against my better jusdgement bought earlier - didnt get bottom but nicely up now and expect more before cob - fill yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee boots :-)

what a retrace!! no end in sight presently!! add a 1 lol!!

well done gibby.

cheers mitzy - hope all going well for you also

Not bad.

glad to hear it - that is better than plain bad!!

just ticked to a new level here

Regained yesterday's fall atm.

cheers skinny looks like 280s any moment - still going strong - there is a lot of general chatter and buying pi & ii - going good :-))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

i'm out now - cashed in gla

Questor share tip: Homeserve's crisis means it's time to sell


Garry White, 7:16, Thursday 17 November 2011

Homeserve has been dubbed the "fifth emergency service" because it provides insurance for domestic crises. However, the company now finds itself in the City's version of A&E.

Homeserve 267p +1 Questor says SELL

In a shock announcement at the end of October, the company, which sell products such as boiler repair cover and plumbing and drainage insurance, said it has suspended all of its telesales and marketing activities following a review by Deloitte.

The bean counters identified problems with mis-selling, not with the products that were sold but with the way they were sold. As a result, all sales and marketing activity were stopped. After the announcement, the shares plunged about 55pc over the next week-and-a-half.

Some in-bound sales activity has started again and the shares bounced by about a fifth after the group revealed that the news had not prompted large-scale cancellations. Homeserve said only 153 out of 3m UK customers had cancelled their home maintenance contracts.

This looks positive, but there is still a real possibility of a Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigation, which could add more confusion to the mix. The FSA has been tight-lipped, as usual, on whether an investigation will take place. If there is one, there could be further falls in the share price.

Indeed, the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal means that the regulator may be keen to show that its regulatory teeth do bite. In a speech at Mansion House in the City in September, Lord Turner, FSA chairman, indicated there would be "a more active preventative approach, ensuring that mis-selling on the scale of PPI is nipped in the bud".

A major growth strand for the business is its move into the US, though an FSA investigation is likely to make US partners reluctant to sign up with the company.

Questor has not covered the shares for some time. The last time a buy rating was put on the shares was 14.44 on September 30, 2008. However, there was a five-for-one share split in July 2010, which means the adjusted tip price was 288.8p. This means the loss from the recommendation is just 7pc. Questor also advised holding the shares in April 2009, when the adjusted price was 256p.

After the recent falls, there could be real long-term value in the shares if current issues are rectified, but there are still many questions that need to be answered. Although the cancellation figures suggest there has not been significant reputational damage so far, it could be too early to say whether this will become a problem. Last year, the group retained about 82pc of customers. It will be interesting to see the client retention rate at the end of the current year.

After the plunge, the shares are now trading on a March 2012 earnings multiple of 9.4, falling to 8.5 times, and the prospective yield is 4.4pc. City analysts are split on what to do. Of the 18 analysts monitored by Bloomberg, 6 say buy, 8 say hold and 4 have a sell rating.

The shares are not likely to move much higher for some time and there is an opportunity cost for investors who continue to hold the shares. Simply, the shares are unlikely to recover quickly and there are better opportunities elsewhere. This means that Questor would use the recent bounce in the shares to exit. Sell.

Half Yearly Report.

-- Half year financial results
- Revenue up 25% and adjusted profit before tax(1) up 10%
- Adjusted earnings per share(2) up 11% and interim dividend up 10%
- 5.1m customers worldwide, up 11%, with policy numbers up 13% to 11.8m
- Global retention rate remains high at 83.3% (HY11: 83.9%)
- Net debt reduced to GBP36.6m (HY11: GBP61.5m)
-- UK - reinvigorating our customer focus

Down 10% on the report.
Could expect 180p here.

Just gone short on HOMESERVE. HSV Poor Fundys and poor Technicals. Loads of debt. Target 205/200ish.

Brokers turned negative since Interims.

Hemscott premium....

Homeserve PLC

FORECASTS 2012 2013
Date Rec Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Execution Noble
08-02-12 NEUT 127.60 28.10 11.50 111.10 24.10 9.90

Seymour Pierce
08-02-12 RED

N+1 Brewin
07-02-12 HOLD 126.10 26.70 11.30 118.80 25.70 12.20

Peel Hunt
07-02-12 SELL 127.95 27.65 11.33 118.67 25.47 11.33

2012 2013
Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Consensus 126.28 27.32 11.47 121.88 26.27 12.03
1 Month Change 0.23 0.02 0.06 -1.24 -0.28 0.01
3 Month Change -4.95 -1.14 -0.17 -22.78 -5.02 -1.05


GROWTH
2011 (A) 2012 (E) 2013 (E)

Norm. EPS 20.97% 17.49% -3.84%
DPS 34.25% 17.00% 4.93%

INVESTMENT RATIOS
2011 (A) 2012 (E) 2013 (E)

EBITDA £126.64m £135.21m £128.81m
EBIT £106.80m £128.54m £117.09m
Dividend Yield 4.08% 4.78% 5.01%
Dividend Cover 2.37x 2.38x 2.18x
PER 10.32x 8.79x 9.14x
PEG 0.49f 0.50f -2.38f
Net Asset Value PS 8.98p 104.32p 122.61p

Stock was tipped in Investors Inteligence
today as a short and added to their
portfolio.....



Homeserve - is a weak stock and should be shorted. Prices are encountering massive overhead resistance and the path of least resistance is therefor south.

Portfolio Update:

We open a short in Homeserve on its profound price weakness

Interesting to see Evil Knevil is short
down to 200p.

...at least.

Must have a good informant.

Interesting to see IG Index client
numbers short 78%.....................

Client Sentiment

22% of IG clients with open positions in this market expect the price to rise

78% of IG clients with open positions in this market expect the price to fall

Get somemeat on the bone from
Brokers Sells.....................

190p and 220p

Date Broker name New Price Old price target New price target Broker change

08-Feb-12 Panmure Gordon Sell 240.10p 190.00p - Reiteration

08-Feb-12 Peel Hunt Limited Sell 240.10p 220.00p - Reiteration

So present SP 248p so a fair drop for holders.

Got a long signal on this earlier this week signalling a potential new uptrend - fortunately got in before the nice rise today.

..Homeserve rockets up on bid talk

By Ben Martin | Telegraph – 49 minutes ago
investors were piling into Homeserve (Dusseldorf: XHSA.DU - news) after talk of a possible bid attracted buyers to the stock.

The shares surged after The Daily Telegraph reported the company had been approached by private equity firms.

Homeserve denied it had been in talks, saying the group “wishes to clarify that it has not, nor is currently, engaged in any discussions which could lead to a possible offer for the company.”

The market, however, was undeterred, and the shares shot up 20 - or 12pc - to 187p, sending the group to the top of the mid-cap index.

This is still ticking up nicely - happy to hold until the trend reverses and I get an exit signal.

Steve

Homeserve is looking like another recovery candidate, as it put on 52p for a 33% rise to 208p during the month.

The home disaster insurance provider was trashed after the Financial Services Authority launched an investigation into possible mis-selling, and it was forced to stop writing new business for a while. But it's looking increasingly likely that the sell-off was overdone -- the shares have recovered from a low of 137.5p reached in June.

Recent forecasts are suggesting earnings per share for 2013 of around 23p and a dividend of 11.3p, with 2014 estimates around the same. That's a P/E of 9, with a dividend yield of 5.4%, which does not look overvalued.

Still holding this as the trend is still up - dragging my stop along as per my charts. Will hold until exit signal given.

Stopped out today following the sharp fall on profit warning rumours early today.Still, a nice profit taken. On to the next trend...

Among the mid-caps, Homeserve (Dusseldorf: XHSA.DU - news) was strong throughout the day and closed up 8.1 to 220.6p. Dealers said the move was likely a relief rally after the drop the shares suffered last week, when market rumours the company could issue a profits warning knocked the price. However, some traders also pointed out that Homeserve did surge in July on the back of takeover talk.

Homeserve, the FTSE 250 home repair and insurance company, has endured a turbulent few months since admitting it was being investigated by the Financial Services authority over allegations of mis-selling.

Despite the current regulatory probe, Homeserve's financial performance has gone from strength to strength since 2010. In May, it reported a 14pc increase in full-year revenues to £535m and a 32pc jump in profits to £138m, thanks to its international arm. By Telegraph staff
4:32PM BST 23 Sep 2012
Comment
Not only that, but earlier this year, the group knocked back private equity bidders looking to pay up to £1bn to take the company private.

The company is understood to have been approached by buyout groups Cinven, KKR and Apax.

The chief executive, Richard Harpin, who owns about 12pc of the company, will be hoping to convince investors that the next few months will be smoother when the company issues a pre-close trading update on Wednesday.

Despite the current regulatory probe, Homeserve's financial performance has gone from strength to strength since 2010. In May, it reported a 14pc increase in full-year revenues to £535m and a 32pc jump in profits to £138m, thanks to its international arm.

The company carries out an estimated 1.6m repairs each year.

Sold ahead of update

Ex-divi wed 4th Dec (3.63p)

RNS Homeserve anticipate £34.5m FCA fine.

StockMarketWire.com
HomeServe, the international home emergency business, says that, in line with its expectations, HomeServe USA has now reached 2 million customers and 3 million policies.

HomeServe expects to announce its preliminary results on 19 May.