Still expensive with the current retail like Supergroup and Mothercare collapsing 40% in a day .

Home Retail Group the owner of Argos and Homebase, releasing first-half results on Wednesday. At the time of its trading statement last month, Argos still looked to be struggling, and things were also said to be "challenging" at Homebase.

With the share price depressed and the currently forecast dividend yield around the 7.5% mark, is Home Retail a bargain now? Or is it structurally challenged and in terminal decline, as nimbler Internet-based companies eat more and more of the pies? Well, I won't be buying any shares, that's for sure

oooops - sub 100 overdue here

Wierth no more that 60p imo.

home are clutching at straws - the desperation is now laid bare

there best bet is a complete strategy change and consolidate the business

additionally argos is history as in its present model

gla

sorry their not there

Sub 100p now their model is seriously in big trouble.

Well done anyone short.

Home Retail profits tumble as Argos suffers

17:38, Wednesday 19 October 2011

Shares in Home Retail Group (EUREX: HOMF.EX - news) fell by 17pc, after profits at its main retail chain Argos plummeted from 54m to 3.4m, the lowest ever amount it has recorded in a half year.

Many analysts remain unconvinced about the business model. David Jeary at Investec said: "The central debate around the group remains whether the core Argos division is in the grips of a cyclical or structural decline. In our view, the jury is still out on this matter, although we have grown increasingly concerned that there are signs of structural pressures on the business. The further [profit] downgrades arising on the back of today's announcement will only serve to heighten investor concerns on this score." Downgrade from hold to sell at Merchant Securities

cheers skinny - hope things going well for you too

agreed mitzy - worse to come imo

dc - good post - investec have nearly caught up today lol

have a good evening all

Home Retail recovers despite downgrades

Rachel Cooper, 19:22, Thursday 20 October 2011

Bargain-hunters went shopping on Thursday, snapping up Home Retail Group (EUREX: HOMF.EX - news) despite brokers slashing their price targets.

FTSE today: market report live

After revealing that its half-year profits had slumped by just over 70pc and cautioning that the outlook for the consumer economy looked bleak, Home Retail took a tumble on Wednesday, sliding 17pc. As traders sought to buy the stock on the cheap, the company which owns Argos and Homebase ticked up 3.9 to 103.4p.

But the recovery came as analysts lowered their profit forecasts and price targets on Home Retail. Nomura cut its full-year profit estimate by 24m to 113m and lowered its price target to 100p from 110p; JP Morgan lowered its price target from 91p to 71p; Citi from 100p to 80p; and Singer from 95p to 80p.

Analysts at the latter said they remained cautious on Home Retails earnings prospects given the groups exposure to the UK mass market customer, the continuing squeeze on spending, and competition.

And any traders hoping that beleaguered Home Retail, which has suffered from rising costs and the need to discount more heavily than expected, could attract a suitor had their hopes scotched by Simon Irwin, an analyst at Liberum. He suggested that Home Retails situation would need to deteriorate much further before it became a target. We dont see Home Retail as an acquisition target until margins, and cash generation, get really distressed, said Mr Irwin, who reduced his price target from 100p to 80p.

Argos margins are still higher than most peers, and we see limited synergies with mass merchants, particularly in apparel. Any acquirer would also have significant M&A risk in a Homebase exit, and an appetite for 3bn of lease liabilities.

hi again dc - indeed - i dont intend buying in here till drops some more - today's soft bounce is i think 2 main reasons - people identify home & argos at a much higher sp so think they have a bargain - but most likely there is vague chatter about a t/o again due to the depressed sp and hopeless business model home currently uses - gl

bad news is that divi in future is expected to come under huge pressure so i would not rely on that anymore either - no kerrrrrchinnnnnngggggg here unless some mug buys home - they do have assets

Who will want them? The sites in the high street may be good. Perhaps just a mini rise.

perhaps a ggggggnnnnnihcrrrek only

The best thing about my nearest Argos/Homebase site, which is actually 'out of town', is the Hand Car Wash, which several very hard working Eastern Europeans run on the site.

You cannot believe how good a job these guys do for a mere 8. I actually give them 10 and it's still such fantastic value!

There are generally more cars at the car wash than there are for punters going to Argos.

Perhaps they should enter the car wash business. lol. My local branch never has anything in stock.

hi dc - yep i believe you ref the eastern europeans - just dont leave anything valuable in the car while they are doing it - we have similar on an out of town retail estate and those east europeans do a real good job - usually take me 4x4 there and they charge a couple of pounds extra as a big bigger - and yes give them a tip too - my tip was dont buy any home shares right now and if you have some sell and buy tcg for a moment or 2 LOL - but seriously i do give em a tip well worth it

not sure if the car wash will save home though as good as those guys are!!

gl

Worth about 60p imo.

What a weird chart.

From a recent RNS :- "HomeServe plc will, as planned, announce its results for the six months ended 30 September 2011 on 22 November 2011 and remains on track to achieve the consensus market forecast profit for the full year ending 31 March 2012."

The next woolworths I fear.

sub 70p this am.

The owner of this once iconic brand, Home Retail , is expected to turn in disappointing figures next week, after the shares have fallen by over 50% this year.

Home Retail: AlphaValue downgrades from buy to reduce, target cut from 151.1p to 108.8p.

.

Indeed!

Financial highlights
§ Sales down 6% to £5,492m
§ Cash gross margin down 7% to £2,027m
§ Robust management of costs with operating and distribution costs broadly flat at £1,930m, with the impact of both underlying cost inflation pressures and the investment in new initiatives having been offset by further cost savings
§ Benchmark operating profit1 down 61% to £98m; Group operating margin of 1.8%
§ Benchmark profit before tax2 down 60% to £102m
§ Basic benchmark earnings per share3 down 59% to 8.7p
§ Closing net cash position at 25 February 2012 of £181m
§ Full-year dividend of 4.7p; no final dividend recommended
§ For the 53 weeks to 3 March 2012, sales down 5% to £5,583m and benchmark profit before tax2 down 54% to £116m. Reported profit before tax of £104m. Reported basic earnings per share of 9.1p. Closing net cash position at 3 March 2012 of £194m. The 53rd week contributed £14m of additional benchmark profit before tax2 and £13m of additional cash.

Oliver Stocken, Chairman of Home Retail Group, commented:

"While the Group's performance in the short term cannot be immune from the economic environment, we continue to focus on its strategic advantages to ensure that it will be well positioned for the economic recovery over the long term. Against this economic backdrop, the Board has decided not to recommend a final dividend this year and therefore the full-year dividend is represented by the interim dividend of 4.7p. Future dividends will be set at a level which is sustainable and which reflects the trading prospects and financial position of the Group."

Some big-name retailers will release figures this week, starting with an interim management statement from Home Retail Group on Tuesday. Home Retail, which owns the well-known Argos and Homebase outlets, released a pretty dreadful set of full-year results last month, and canceled its final dividend.

To add to trading woes, the company's managers decided to spend lots of cash on a share buyback in the hope of boosting the share price, but the timing proved disastrous as the price carried on sliding. The slump has seen the shares fall from a 2009 peak of 329p to just 72p today. Recovery investors will be looking for signs that the bottom might have been reached.

Tuesday June 19 =

Quarterly trading is expected to pretty terrible for Home Retail group , which owns Argos and Homebase. The DIY and garden retailer is likely to have been hit very hard by the terrible April weather, which knocked its rival B&Q for six earlier this month. Trading at Argos is unlikely to have turned around, though analysts hope that a small increase in television sales ahead of the summer of sport might have helped a little. JP Morgan is forecasting that like-for-like sales at Argos will have fallen by 5pc and at Homebase by 8pc.

Home Retail Group plc

Interim Management Statement



Home Retail Group, the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer, today publishes an Interim Management Statement covering the 13 weeks from 4 March to 2 June 2012.



Terry Duddy, Chief Executive of Home Retail Group, commented:



"Over a particularly volatile trading period, Argos had a solid start to the year supported by its multi-channel performance, while at Homebase the poor weather conditions adversely impacted seasonal product sales. At this early stage of the financial year we are comfortable with current market expectations for full year benchmark profit. We will continue to plan cautiously, managing robustly both the cost base and the cash position of the Group while prioritising our investment in the ongoing development of our multi-channel capabilities."









Argos







Sales


£819m



Like-for-like change in sales


(0.2%)



Net space contribution to sales change


0.4%



Total sales change


0.2%



Gross margin movement


Down c.25bps












Homebase







Sales


£421m



Like-for-like change in sales


(8.3%)



Net space contribution to sales change


0.2%



Total sales change


(8.1%)



Gross margin movement




http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4390851

Recovering well, up 3.5%

Argos owner Home Retail Group, reporting next week, might also have done well, but questions remain for the retailer.

Rumours that it was seeking a restructuring of the Argos chain have been quietly dismissed. But many analysts believe it cannot continue with so many stores.

Terry Duddy has been chief executive of Home Retail for six years but some sources suggest it may be time for a changing of the guard in favour of newly appointed Argos boss John Walden.

Home Retail was making gains after Investec (Frankfurt: A0J32R - news) upgraded its rating on the stock from 'sell' to 'buy', saying that shares should react positively "to evidence of more resilient trading at Argos" after the group's second-quarter trading update next week.

over 96p

Home Retail: UBS upgrades from neutral to buy, target lifted from 90p to 115p

13 September 2012

Argos sales growth boosted by tablet computers

Argos parent sees shares surge
Argos has returned to sales growth, led by the popularity of tablet computers and e-book readers, owner Home Retail Group (HRG) has said.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19582844

Sold my holding

You do relise theres a div to be had in nov i think.,.

Bb made a good profit. A couple of new comps I want to invest in in the next week.
In and out now within reason seems to be working well for me. Cheers Bb.

Home Retail Group the troubled owner of Argos and Homebase, is due to release interim results on Wednesday 24 October. It's been through the wars over the past couple of years -- no sooner had it managed to put a stop to the slide at Argos, than bad weather hit Homebase sales, which were down 6.2% at the time of the firm's Q2 statement on 13 September.

The shares have slipped by around 20% over the past 12 months, to 90p, and are way down on their £4 levels of 2008. But even after that, they don't look cheap by traditional measures -- they're on a P/E of over 15, with a dividend of a fairly modest 3.5% expected. The current glitch at Homebase was beyond the firm's control, but we really should want to see, over the next six months, that the rot really has been halted, and look for some evidence of an upswing in business

Home Retail Group (HOME) is expected to report another big fall in profits when it announces its interim results on Wednesday.

Recent news: The first and second-quarter trading statements hinted that first-half sales and gross profits would be down. Management comments also suggested costs would be reduced.

Last year, Home Retail's pre-tax profits fell from £103 million to £28 million.

Analysts' expectations: The consensus forecast is for first-half pre-tax profits to come in at £14 million.

Philip Dorgan, analyst at Panmure Gordon, is cautious about the upcoming Christmas trading period due to "tough" competition and pricing. He stresses that Argos has too many branches and needs to embark upon a substantial store closure programme.

"Because Home Retail has cash of around £200 million, it is under no immediate financial pressure. This also means that Argos could trade at a loss for some time," he points out. "This is the good news, but it is not enough for us to buy the shares, nor is a less-bad-than-feared second-quarter."

"Both of its operating companies still have fragile profits and losses and we think that Argos requires significant store closure, major cost reduction and brand repositioning. We believe that the risks therefore remain very much on the downside."

Valuation: The stock is trading on a 2012 PE ratio of about 16 times.

Questor share tip: Home Retail's valuation is too high to buy
By Garry White | Telegraph – 2 hours 40 minutes ago.. .

.HOME RETAIL GROUP

Home Retail Group (Other OTC: HMRLF.PK - news) has unveiled it new strategy to boost profits at Argos. The plan is sound, but the valution is too high to buy the shares right now. Questor says avoid.

Home Retail Group 112p Questor says: AVOID

Home Retail group, the owner of Argos, has unveiled plans to return to profit growth at the high-street chain. The market took the news very well.

The company plans to increase its customer base, by repositioning Argos’s channels for a digital future. It’s bye-bye to the catalogue and hello WiFi enabled stores and iPad ordering. After significant investment in IT, management are targeting £4.5bn of sales in 2018, compared with £3.9bn now a mid-single-digit operating margin. A total of 50 stores will be closed and 25 repositioned.

Management has committed to spending £175m a year over three years and expects to see restructuring costs of £50m a year. However, Terry Duddy, chief executive, tells Questor he expects to do this with the company’s own funds.

By the year end, Mr Duddy expects to have around £300m in cash on the balance sheet and the group has recently implemented better cashflow management, which should strengthen cash conversion. The group also has a loan book of about £450m, so could potentially securitise this should it need more cash

There is no doubt that the new direction is ambitious, but it is certainly achievable. The plans appear to imply like-for-like sales growth of about 3pc at the Argos chain. However, trading is very tough at the moment.

The interims released alongside the strategy review, saw like-for-like sales at Argos rise just 0.6pc and this was from a low base. Same-store sales in the equivalent period of 2011 fell by 9.1pc. Total (Brussels: FP.BR - news) pre-tax profit at the group, which also owns Homebase, fell 37pc, with Argos operating profit down 3pc.

The shares have surged by 60pc in the run up to the strategic review and are now trading on a February 2013 earnings multiple of 18, falling to 16 in 2014. This is a heady rating when compared with Dixons Retail (Other OTC: DSITF.PK - news) , which trades on a multiple of 15, falling to 10.5. Essentially, the valuation is pricing in a near-perfect execution of the new strategy.

There is no doubt that Mr Duddy’s plan is correct that’s why investors have propelled the shares to such a high rating. However, any missteps or deterioration in the consumer backdrop will be punished. On valuation grounds, avoid.

Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail (LON:HOME) has been feeling the biting wind of competition blowing from the Internet, as well as High Street rivals such as Tesco and Dixons.

The group makes its third quarter (Q3) trading update, covering the 18 weeks from September to December.

“For Argos … we forecast 3Q LFL sales growth of only +0.5% with a gross margin hit of -60 basis points (bps), predominantly due to an adverse sales mix along with some price investment. We believe the consensus LFL sales estimate for Argos is around 0.3% with a wide range of -2.5% to 2% and consensus gross margin estimate is c. -50bps, with a range of -75bps to 25bps,” reports Caroline Gulliver, the retail analyst at Espirito Santo.

For Homebase, Gulliver forecasts a 1.5% decline in LFL sales for the third quarter.

“We believe the consensus LFL sales estimate for Homebase is -2.3%, with a wide range of -4.2% to +1%. We are forecasting gross margin of +25 bps, with consensus c.-25 bps with a range of -100 to +50bps,” Gulliver revealed

Interim Management Statement

Argos

Total sales at Argos grew by 1.6% to £1,744m. Net closed space reduced sales by 1.1% in the period with the store portfolio remaining at 739.

Like-for-like sales increased by 2.7% in the period. Consumer electronics continued to deliver an improved sales performance driven by strong growth in tablets, which together with further growth in white goods, toys and core electricals, offset weaker trading in the homewares and jewellery categories.

The approximate 50 basis point gross margin decline was principally driven by the sales mix impact from the improved performance in consumer electronics and price investment, partially offset by the anticipated net benefit of favourable currency and reduced shipping costs.

Homebase

Total sales at Homebase declined by 4.5% to £453m. Net closed space reduced sales by 0.6%; three stores closed in the period, reducing the store portfolio to 337.

Like-for-like sales declined by 3.9% in the period principally driven by the continued weakness in big ticket sales.

The approximate 50 basis point gross margin decline was principally driven by an increased level of clearance activity.

Other

No other material events, transactions or impacts on the Group's financial position have taken place since the previously announced 1 September 2012 balance sheet date.

RSI picking up.

End of Year Trading Statement

Taken some off of the table here.

Full Year Results - Part 1

Full Yera results = Part 2


Operating highlights

§ Announced transformation plan which will reinvent Argos as a digital retail leader and reposition it from a catalogue-led to a digitally-led business
§ Announced plans to invest in Homebase store refits and accelerated multi-channel capability to deliver an enhanced customer proposition
§ Argos' multi-channel sales penetration increased to 51% of total sales. Internet sales grew 10% to reach 42% of Argos' total sales. Argos' website and app visits increased by 24% with mobile shopping now representing 10% of total sales
§ Homebase's multi-channel sales penetration increased to 5% of total sales with Reserve and Collect sales growing by 27% and website visits increasing by 23%
§ In a year of positive like-for-like sales growth, Argos returned to market share growth whilst Homebase, despite a difficult trading environment, delivered its fourth consecutive year of market share gains
§ Ongoing growth and development of both exclusive and own-brand products, including the introduction of Habitat product into both Argos and Homebase

Financial highlights

§ Sales broadly flat at £5,475m
§ Cash gross margin down 1% to £2,002m
§ Robust management of costs with operating and distribution costs reduced by a further £21m to £1,908m, as underlying cost inflation was more than offset by further cost savings
§ Benchmark operating profit2 up £6m at Argos and down £12m at Homebase
§ Benchmark profit before tax3 down 10% to £91m
§ Basic benchmark earnings per share4 down 11% to 7.7p
§ Reported profit before tax of £130m; reported basic earnings per share of 11.7p
§ Strong cash generation in the year of £202m, driven principally by a strong working capital performance, with a closing net cash position of £396m
§ Full-year dividend of 3.0p (2012: 4.7p); final dividend of 2.0p recommended

Take your pick.

Panmure Gordon Sell 150.30 80.00 80.00 Reiterates

Investec Buy 150.30 173.00 173.00 Retains

Oriel Securities Reduce 150.30 - 140.00 Reiterates

Home Retail to reinvent Argos to stem profit fall

LONDON | Wed May 1, 2013 3:01pm BST
(Reuters) - Home Retail (HOME.L), Britain's biggest household goods retailer, will reinvent Argos stores to allow shoppers to pick up pre-paid goods in less than a minute, as it trials new initiatives to reverse half a decade of profit falls.

The group, which also owns the Homebase DIY chain, posted a 10 percent fall in 2012-13 profit, a fifth straight decline, and said it did not expect any improvement any time soon as consumers fret over job security and a squeeze on incomes.

Gone long looks like a recovery play fundy wise and chart looks very enticing......

Interim Management Statement

"Argos has delivered a good start to the year driven by continued success in consumer electronics and electricals, supported by growing internet and mobile commerce sales. Overall, its trading has been consistent with our expectations. Homebase produced a positive like-for-like sales performance, however seasonal sales were adversely impacted by the volatile weather and as a result its performance for the quarter was slightly behind our expectations.

Whilst we expect consumer spending to remain subdued, we are on track with delivering our investment plans to drive the long term development of both Argos and Homebase."

Second Quarter Trading Statement

Argos

Total sales at Argos grew by 2.4% to £889m. Net closed space reduced sales by 0.3% in the quarter with the store portfolio remaining at 737.

Like-for-like sales increased by 2.7% in the quarter. Growth was driven by strong sales in seasonal products which benefited from favourable weather conditions; this combined with continued growth in electricals, more than offset sales declines in furniture and homewares.

Sales via the internet continued to grow with internet penetration now representing 44% of total Argos sales, up from 42% for the same period last year. This growth was supported by strong sales in mobile commerce, which saw sales grow by 133% to 17% of total Argos sales, up from 7% for the same period last year, driven by the ongoing development of Argos' mobile and tablet apps.

The approximate 50 basis point gross margin decline was driven principally by the sales mix impact from the growth in electricals.

Homebase

Total sales at Homebase grew by 9.3% to £400m. Net closed space reduced sales by 1.7% in the quarter; three stores closed in the quarter reducing the store portfolio to 333.

Like-for-like sales increased by 11.0% in the quarter driven by strong sales of seasonal products, which represent c.40% of total sales in the quarter and which benefited from favourable weather conditions. Big ticket sales performance was also slightly ahead while sales in the remaining categories were slightly down.

The gross margin rate was level with the same period last year.

Other

A cash payment of £14.1m was made to the Home Retail Group Employee Share Trust during the period to fund the purchase of 10.0m shares. The shares contribute towards those already held by the Trust and which are potentially needed to satisfy obligations arising from employee share schemes, the majority of which relate to the save-as-you-earn plans offered to the Group's c.50,000 colleagues.

Other than those previously disclosed, no material events, transactions or impacts on the Group's financial position have taken place since the previously announced 2 March 2013 balance sheet date.

Half Year Results - Part 1

Operating highlights

§ Good first half, with both businesses delivering a positive like-for-like sales performance
§ Argos Transformation plan progress:
- Internet penetration increased to 43% of Argos' total sales, with mobile commerce growing 124% to account for 16% of total sales
- Launched both new and improved smartphone and tablet apps
- Reached eight million customer registrations
- Expanded 'hub & spoke' trial to around 50 stores
§ Homebase Renewal plan progress:
- Completed a further five store refits
- Launched a next or named day delivery proposition
- Grew multi-channel sales by 28%
- Achieved further market share gains

Financial highlights

§ Sales up 3% to £2,596m; like-for-like sales up 2.3% at Argos, and up 5.9% at Homebase
§ Cash gross margin up 1% to £962m
§ Operating and distribution costs held broadly flat at £936m
§ Benchmark operating profit1 up 40% to £26.4m
§ Benchmark profit before tax2 up 53% to £27.4m
§ Basic benchmark earnings per share3 up 79% to 2.5p
§ Reported profit before tax of £14.2m; reported basic earnings per share of 1.6p
§ Cash generation in the period of £16m with closing net cash of £412m
§ Interim dividend of 1.0p (2012: 1.0p)

Nice results... improving steadily over the last few years.

Next target is 230p for me and increase in the divi.

Trading Update 16th January.

Interim Management Statement

Appointment of new Chief Executive

Home Retail Group Plc PT Raised to GBX 250 at HSBC (HOME)
Posted by Bonnie Powley on Jan 17th, 2014

Home Retail Group Plc logoInvestment analysts at HSBC increased their price target on shares of Home Retail Group Plc (LON:HOME) from GBX 220 ($3.63) to GBX 250 ($4.12) in a note issued to investors on Friday, American Banking News reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. HSBC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 22.49% from the company’s current price.
Home Retail Group Plc (LON:HOME) opened at 204.00 on Friday. Home Retail Group Plc has a 52 week low of GBX 117.10 and a 52 week high of GBX 203.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 192.5 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 173.2. The company’s market cap is £1.632 billion.
A number of other firms have also recently commented on HOME. Analysts at Nomura raised their price target on shares of Home Retail Group Plc from GBX 215 ($3.54) to GBX 230 ($3.79) in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their price target on shares of Home Retail Group Plc from GBX 225 ($3.71) to GBX 230 ($3.79) in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Societe Generale raised their price target on shares of Home Retail Group Plc from GBX 158 ($2.60) to GBX 175 ($2.88) in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a “sell” rating on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 157.11 ($2.59).
Home Retail Group plc is a home and general merchandise retailer. The Company is organized into three business segments: Argos, Homebase and Financial Services together with Central Activities.

Nomura Buy 207.95 215.00 230.00 Reiterates

HSBC Overweight 207.95 220.00 250.00 Reiterates

Citigroup Neutral 207.95 195.00 205.00 Reiterates

Societe Generale Sell 207.95 158.00 175.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Buy 207.95 225.00 230.00 Reiterates

BROKER UPGRADE......

Home Retail Group Plc Given New GBX 230 Price Target at Deutsche Bank (HOME)
Posted by Wayne Rhoads on Jan 20th, 2014

Home Retail Group Plc logoHome Retail Group Plc (LON:HOME) had its price objective hosited by Deutsche Bank from GBX 225 ($3.69) to GBX 230 ($3.78) in a report released on Friday, AnalystRatings.Net reports. Deutsche Bank currently has a buy rating on the stock.
Deutsche Bank has also taken action a number of other stocks recently. The firm initiated coverage on shares of Luxottica Group S.p.A.. They issued a buy rating on that stock. Also, Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Statoil from a hold rating to a buy rating. Finally, Deutsche Bank raised its price target on shares of Chelsea Therapeutics International from $4.00 to $5.00. They have a hold rating on that stock.
Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Societe Generale raised their price target on shares of Home Retail Group Plc from GBX 158 ($2.59) to GBX 175 ($2.87) in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a sell rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Citigroup Inc. raised their price target on shares of Home Retail Group Plc from GBX 195 ($3.20) to GBX 205 ($3.37) in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a neutral rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at N+1 Singer reiterated a hold rating on shares of Home Retail Group Plc in a research note to investors on Thursday. They now have a GBX 210 ($3.45) price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Home Retail Group Plc has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of GBX 158.25 ($2.60).


Shares of Home Retail Group Plc (LON:HOME) opened at 204.10 on Friday. Home Retail Group Plc has a one year low of GBX 117.10 and a one year high of GBX 210.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is GBX 192.9 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 173.4. The company’s market cap is £1.633 billion.
Home Retail Group plc is a home and general merchandise retailer. The Company is organized into three business segments: Argos, Homebase and Financial Services together with Central Activities.

End of Year Trading Statement

Full Year Results - Part 1

Operating highlights
§ Good performances at both Argos and Homebase, with both businesses delivering positive like-for-like sales growth throughout the year
§ Argos Transformation plan progress:
- Increased internet penetration to 44% of Argos' total sales, including mobile commerce which grew 89% to account for 18% of total sales
- Launched improved smartphone and tablet apps
- Achieved 11.6 million customer registrations
- Trialled 'hub & spoke' distribution model in 49 stores
- Added aspirational new brands to Argos range
- Trialled six digital concept stores
§ Homebase Renewal plan progress:
- Completed a further 12 store refits
- Launched a next day delivery proposition
- Grew multi-channel sales by 53%
- Reduced the store estate in line with plans

Financial highlights
§ Sales up 3% at £5,663m
§ Cash gross margin up 2% to £2,034m
§ Operating and distribution costs up £13m to £1,921m as a result of ongoing investment in strategic initiatives across both Argos and Homebase
§ Benchmark operating profit1 up 21% to £113.0m
§ Benchmark profit before tax2 up 27% to £115.4m
§ Basic benchmark earnings per share3 up 35% to 10.4p
§ Reported profit before tax of £71.2m; reported basic earnings per share of 6.8p
§ Year-end cash balance of £331m
§ Full-year dividend up 10% at 3.3p (FY13: 3.0p); final dividend of 2.3p recommended



Full Year Results - Part 2

Final Results

· Financial summary
- Revenue of £568.3m up 4% on prior year (2013: £546.5m)
- Adjusted operating profit of £86.9m (2013: £107.6m):
- UK adjusted operating profit of £53.4m (2013: £78.3m)
- Established International businesses adjusted operating profit of £39.2m (2013: £34.1m)
- Adjusted free cash flow of £92.6m (2013: £80.2m)with net debt of £42.3m at 31 March 2014 (2013: £42.9m)
- Statutory profit before tax of £24.4m (2013: £66.5m) includes exceptional expenditure of £46.7m in respect of the resolution of UK matters.

· Strategy and customer focus reaffirmed in the UK business

- 2.1m customers reflecting strong retention performance at 82% (2013: 79%)
- Further investment made to enhance products and service leading to continued improvement in customer satisfaction
- Effective multi-channel marketing acquired 0.2m customers in the year
- Financial Conduct Authority investigation completed and financial penalty paid in February 2014
- All customers included in the re-contact exercise have now been contacted and associated costs have been fully provided

· International businesses now account for 62% of total customers

- Strong profit growth in the USA (36%) and Spain (29%)
- 19% customer growth in the USA
- Signed 12 new affinity partnership agreements in the USA, including one with American Electric Power (AEP), a utility serving 3.7m households
- Customer numbers more than doubled in Spain
- Signed a new affinity partnership agreement with Aqualia, a water utility in Spain that serves 2.6m households

Interim Management Statement

Full-Year Results

Home Retail Group, the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer, today announces its results for the 52 weeks to 28 February 2015.

Operating highlights
§ A good overall performance, with a second year of like-for-like sales growth at both Argos and Homebase.
§ Argos Transformation Plan progress:
- Completed the national roll-out of the 'hub & spoke' distribution network enabling same day collection of c.20,000 products
- 60 digital stores now trading across three different store formats
- Internet penetration accounted for 46% of total sales including mobile commerce which grew by 38% to represent 25% of total sales
- Added a further c.11,000 products and 29 aspirational brands
§ Homebase Productivity Plan progress:
- Completed a comprehensive review of the Homebase business, and announced the Productivity Plan in October 2014
- Good progress achieved in reducing the size of the store estate by 27 stores to 296 stores in a cash generative manner
- Argos concessions now in 20 stores and Habitat concessions in 35 stores

Financial highlights
§ Sales increased by 1% to £5,710m; like-for-like sales up 0.6% at Argos, and up 2.3% at Homebase
§ Cash gross margin broadly flat at £2,037m
§ Operating and distribution costs decreased by £14m to £1,908m
§ Benchmark profit before tax increased by 14% to £132.1m
§ Basic benchmark earnings per share increased by 25% to 13.0p
§ Reported profit before tax increased by 32% to £93.8m; reported basic earnings per share of 9.4p
§ Year-end cash balance of £309m
§ Full-year dividend up 15% at 3.8p (FY14: 3.3p); final dividend of 2.8p recommended

Espirito Santo Execution Noble Sell 172.15 185.00 140.00 Downgrades

Come to life on bid spec from SBRY.
2517

StockMarketWire.com
Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase, has confirmed it received and rejected an approach from Sainsbury's regarding a possible cash and share offer for the company.

Home Retail said the board rejected the approach as it undervalued the group and its long-term prospects.

http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-01-06/sainsbury-seeks-january-bargain-in-argos-catalog-takeover-bid

Bid offer from Sainsbury's will have to be 170 -180 or more now.

Rumours of a tie-up between Ocado and Amazon are sending shockwaves throughout the supermarket sector as an already highly competitive sector looks to become even more difficult to operate within. The two pronged attack on the big four, with low-cost German entrants (Lidl and Aldi) on one side, and one of the world’s biggest retailers on the other, will no doubt shrink the perceived market share of the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

bloomberg reported a couple of hours back that the parties were closing in on agreeing a price

market is indicating that this might be true as sp now 147.7 = +11p or 8% ...... mam chart is of course behind the curve as always

very happy that i topped up a couple of days ago :-)

.

looks like the bears are starting to run for cover, as well they might

a nice little earner for early in the week
t/o terms equate to about 161p per share ...... won't make a huge profit but better than a poke in the eye for sure

bit of a swizz ...... didn't expect to see HOME back below 150

shall just sit on them for the moment

hence the chirpiness in the last couple of days ....

It has emerged that Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's has competition in its bid to buy Argos-owner Home Retail Group.

It was announced by South African retailer Steinhoff, after financial markets had closed for the day in Europe, that it proposed an offer for Home Retail of 175p-per-share - valuing the company at £1.4bn.

That trumped the supermarket's planned bid of 161.3p-per-share, tabled two weeks ago, which valued Home Retail at £1.3bn - just above its current market value.