BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS

Date Broker Recommendation Price Old target price New target price Notes
08 Jul RBC Capital Markets Outperform 196.75 - 280.00 Reiterates
30 Jun Credit Suisse Neutral 196.75 225.00 225.00 Reiterates
13 Jun Deutsche Bank Buy 196.75 240.00 245.00 Reiterates
12 Jun Cantor Fitzgerald Buy 196.75 250.00 250.00 Reiterates

RBC Capital Markets Outperform 193.35 193.10 - - Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Buy 193.35 193.10 245.00 245.00 Reiterates

Yep looks like every Broker and his dog are recommending these now.

Ahhhh cant get too greedy.

Yes i got this one wrong yesterday ,won't be the first or last time.

Share Magazine's Griller subject today. SP at a 2 year low with a juicy 5.6% divi and a PE of 13, possibly a decent entry point or destined for further weakness, any views.
2517

Ex-divi 28th May 2015 (6p)

What are your views here Harry/anyone?

Sorry to say have not done any research on this one. Quite often I root around for stocks which are coming up to divi and yielding more than 3%, which this was at the time, but as it's ex-divi tomorrow, I assume we can expect a drop in the sp to compensate. Not one I hold at the moment. Have dumped all my QPP at a small profit (thankfully) so am hunting around for a slightly safer haven (hence my MXF question).

Thanks Harry - the ex-divi was what afftracted me.

Have a look at MARS,PEW,CWC & HICL - all ex tomorrow and perhaps KCOM.

Thanks for the tips......but anything less than 3% yield isn't really on my radar. You can now get 1.8% in a savings account with no risk, so am determined to find better than that if I can. (SSE maybe??)

Yes I have SSE @5.25% & NG.@4.61%




MARS yield @3.9%
PEW yield @5.11%
CWC yield @3.5%
HICL yield @5.9%
KCOM yield @4.8%



A couple of other :-

RECI yield @6.1%
SREI yield @4.61%

Sorry, yes thanks. Was looking at interim or final divi yield only in isolation.

Harry, have a look at the INFINIS thread they have today declared a final dividend of 12.2p, which should be paid in August - which at yesterday's closing price @179, gives an interim yield of @6.8% .

This has pinged up on my radar again. Brokers seem to like it and yield is forecast to be over 6% for the next few years. Gently falling PE and EPS growth looking good.
(Off topic.....Skinny, have you ever looked at JLIF? Figures look good...am currently researching.)

I have some of these acquired from 171-181

I was attracted by the dividend, chart for last 10 years and a bottom from the 2011 and 2012 which I didn't expect to be retested.

I don't have my notes to hand right now it's getting beaten up due to weak euro which maybe has started to turn in the right direction over the last few sessions

Premier Farnell plc - Trading statement
Premier Farnell plc ("the Group"), a global leader in the high service distribution of technology products and solutions, today issues a trading statement to update its outlook for the second quarter(Q2) and first half of the current 2015/2016 financial year. The Group's interim results will be published on 17th September 2015.

Following our first quarter (Q1) trading update in June, Group sales per day momentum has slowed significantly, particularly in our North American and UK markets. Group sales growth per day in the second quarter is now expected to be 1.2% versus the 5.4% delivered in the first quarter. Excluding Raspberry Pi, Group sales per day growth is expected to be 0.8% in the second quarter, compared to 1.9% in the first quarter.

Reflecting the trading performance and the impact of current exchange rates, we now expect adjusted operating profit in the first half to be down approximately 10% on the first half of last year. This excludes the impact of a circa £2.0m provision release relating to the successful outcome of a potential legal action. Including the provision release, adjusted operating profit is expected to be approximately 6% down year on year.

Laurence Bain, Group Chief Executive, commented:
"Despite implementing a number of initiatives to drive sales and expand our gross margin, we have been impacted by a slowdown in and a more difficult trading environment since we reported our Q1 numbers. Although we continue to focus on delivering the cost savings identified in our global operating model, given the recent weakness in some of our core markets and prevailing exchange rates, we now expect adjusted operating profits in the second half to be at similar levels to those in the first half (excluding the benefit of the £2.0m provision release).

In light of these challenging trading conditions, the Board has recently commenced a review of the Group's operations and will provide an update on this review in September as part of the interim results announcement."

Oh well - one for the dividend pile for the moment.

StockMarketWire.com
Premier Farnell has booked an H1 pretax profit down 15.9% to £30.6m, from £36.4m. Revenue was £498.6m, from £479.3m. Interim dividend was 2.6p, from £4.4p.

Chair Val Gooding commented:
"The review announced in July is progressing rapidly. One of the key early decisions is to dispose of Akron Brass which, although an excellent business, does not fit strategically within the portfolio given the Group's refocus on its core distribution activities.

"The Board has also given careful consideration to the current shape and capacity of the Group's balance sheet and we have concluded that it is appropriate to rebase our dividend.

"The Board recognises the significance of the dividend to our shareholders, but also the importance of it being sustainable and progressive and we will therefore target dividend cover in the range 1.5x to 2.0x going forward.

"The review has highlighted the extent of change in the business that is necessary to allow it to compete effectively in an increasingly digital market.

"Further work is required to determine the scale, timing, benefits and costs involved, and the Board expects to be in a position to provide this information at the time of its Q3 trading update in December 2015."

Barclays comment:
"While the top-line growth rates reported today are slightly worse than those disclosed in July’s pre-close update, overall 1H operating profit is in-line with the Group’s guidance of -10% yoy. Unfortunately, the outlook for 2H has worsened and revised guidance is for FY operating profit to be between -13% and -17% below last year (July guidance was -7%). Alongside this updated guidance, PFL has announced the following: (1) a 41% cut to the interim dividend; (2) an intention to dispose of Akron Brass; (3) the operational review remains ongoing with work to date “highlighting the extent of change in the business that is necessary” with an update on the scale, timing, benefits and costs involved scheduled for December. Given the shape of the balance sheet, we do not disagree with either the dividend cut or the planned disposal of Akron Brass. Unsurprisingly, given the review was only initiated at the end of July, detail on future strategy is lacking but we welcome the emphasis on focusing on the fundamentals of distribution, something which we do not believe has always been at the heart of Group strategy. Comments on the pricing strategy and a planned revision of Group KPIs indicate to us a further rebasing of margins is likely but the extent of this remains unclear. Assuming a final dividend cut of similar scale to the interim, implies a prospective dividend yield of 4.6%.
Guidance reduced again: Following a weak end to 2Q which has continued into 3Q, management guidance is reduced again from a FY operating profit of £82m to “in the range £73m-77m”. With the statement indicating a need to “realign our pricing strategy”, we make another cut to our gross margin forecasts.
Rebased dividend yields 4.6%: Based on our revised forecasts, PFL trades on a 12m forward PE of 11.5x. While the scale of the downgrade is disappointing coming just 6 weeks after the last update, we believe the initial actions taken as part of the strategic review are sensible and the dividend yield of 4.6% may offer some support ahead of the full strategy update in December. We reduce our target price to 135p, based on a 12m forward PE of 11.8x, a c10% discount to the long-term average reflecting uncertainty over where margins will stabilise, and equating to a 4.5% dividend yield."

StockMarketWire.com
Citigroup has downgraded its recommendation on Premier Farnell (LON:PFL) to sell from neutral, stating that the electronics distributor seems structurally challenged after another earnings downgrade.

The broker added: "Given uncertainty over its ability to deliver sales growth and operating leverage, we feel earnings risk remains on the downside as management struggles to offset ongoing gross margin erosion."

Analysts have lowered their target to 90 pence a share (from 140 pence), which they said was to reflect earnings downgrades, heightened business risk due to Strategy Refocus and structural challenges.

StockMarketWire.com
Premier Farnell said its FY pretax profit has fallen to GBP29.2m, from GBP54.1m. Revenue was GBP903.9m, from GBP886.6m.

Proposed final dividend is 3.6p a share, down 40% on the year. Total proposed for 2015/16 dividend is 6.2p, also down 40% on the year, following previously announced dividend rebasing.

Chairman Val Gooding commented:
"We have commenced implementation of a series of actions in the past year to address a challenging period for Premier Farnell. The operational review has already yielded positive results which we will continue to build on.

"On 16 March 2016, we completed the sale of Akron Brass for $224.2m, enabling the company to reduce its net debt and concentrate on its core activities. We have also rebased the dividend to a level from which we aim to deliver a sustainable and progressive dividend policy.

"Following an extensive global search, we were delighted to announce last week the appointment of Jos Opdeweegh as Chief Executive of Premier Farnell. His strong international experience and track record of value creation provides a strong platform for the next stage of our development."