Is This A Buy Yet??????????? @115p

HIGHLIGHTS

Underlying profits increased by 18.1% to £122.2 million from £103.5 million in 2013


2014
2013
(restated*)
Change
% change
Profit before tax
£122.8m
£104.8m
+£18.0m
+17.2%
Basic EPS
31.9p
28.2p
+3.7p
+13.1%
Dividend per share
9.0p
7.2p
+1.8p
+25%
Dividend cover ratio
3.5 times
3.9 times


Return on equity
10.7%
10.1%


Cost:income ratio
32.0%
33.2%


* note 2

Strong progress in buy-to-let and debt purchase divisions. Banking franchise established. All divisions showing strong growth prospects

· Buy-to-let completions increased by 82.5% to £656.6 million (2013: £359.8 million); pipeline increased by 78.9% to £414.8 million (2013: £231.9 million)

· Idem Capital increased its investments, net of debt, by 89.3% to £175.7 million (2013: £92.8 million)

· Paragon Bank launched car finance, second mortgage and buy-to-let operations

Significant progress achieved in Group's funding diversification strategy

· Paragon Bank's retail deposit taking activities commenced in June 2014, with £60.1 million of deposits by the year end

· Second retail bond completed, taking cumulative issuance to £185.0 million

· Two bespoke financing packages, totalling £185.6 million raised to support Idem Capital

· Warehouse facilities for buy-to-let lending increased to £550.0 million

· Securitisation issuance totalled £929.7 million over the last 12 months

Capital management

· Strong increase of 20.2% in net cash generation to £157.8 million (2013: £131.3 million)

· Group capital ratios remain strong with Core Tier 1 ratio of 19.7% and leverage ratio of 8.3%

· 2014 dividend cover ratio at top of the targeted range of 3.0 to 3.5 times, two years ahead of expectations

· Initial £50.0 million share buy-back programme announced

Outlook

· Strong new lending and debt purchase pipelines, together with the development of Paragon Bank, present significant growth prospects

· Funding diversification programme and improving debt capacity underpin sustainable growth

· Shareholder returns enhanced by higher dividends and capital management programme

This Broker was looking for a 16% increase and we got a 17.2% increase year on year.

Tuesday 25 November

Paragon (PAG) will release its full-year results on Tuesday.

Analysts' expectations: Paragon's full-year results are expected to show both Mortgages and Idem Capital posting strong growth. Stuart Duncan at Peel Hunt reckons there could be a 16% increase in profits.

He anticipates "positive trends" in each aspect of the business, with expectations that "the Mortgage business [will] do £600 million of new completions, Idem [will] have completed further portfolio acquisitions, and the new bank to be making progress."

With Paragon currently trading at roughly 1.1x September 2015 forecast net asset value (NAV), he believes that this "undervalues the future growth in ROE (return on equity)", which is why he retains his 'buy' recommendation.

BRIEF – Paragon FY pretax profit up 17.2 pct
25 Nov 2014 - 07:45

Nov 25 (Reuters) – Paragon Group Of Companies Plc

FY pretax profit rose 17.2 percent to 122.8 million STG
Final dividend 6 pence per share
Total dividend 9 pence per share
FY basic EPS 31.9 pence
Strong new lending and debt purchase pipelines, together with development of paragon bank, present significant growth prospects
Source text for Eikon: ... Further company coverage: PARA.L

(Bangalore Newsroom: +91 80 6749 1136)

Keywords: PARAGONGROUPOFCOMPANIES/BRIE

sp still quite well short of its peak of about 420 reached in april this year

Yep plenty of manoeuvre space....

PAG

First of many Broker updates I reckon.......

25 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG Espirito Santo Execution Noble Buy 392.10 377.90 494.00 494.00 Reiterates

SP target 494p

25 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG Panmure Gordon Buy 392.10 377.90 500.00 500.00 Reiterates

500p SP Target.

25 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG Liberum Capital Buy 392.10 377.90 - 442.00 Reiterates

25 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG Canaccord Genuity Buy 394.05 377.90 453.00 453.00 Reiterates

25 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG Shore Capital Buy 401.05 377.90 - - Retains

IC TIP UPDATES:

Buy to let specialist and Simon Thompson recommendation Paragon Group of Companies (PAG) has issued a strong set of full year results reflecting ongoing buoyant trading conditions. Pre-tax profits rose by 17.2 per cent to £122.8m, allowing management to increase the dividend by 25 per cent to 9p a share. Buy to let completions in the year rose by 82.5 per cent and the forward order book is up 79 per cent to £415m. During the period the group also launching its own banking products and attracted £60.1m in deposits between June and September.

25 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG RBC Capital Markets Outperform 408.15 377.90 - - Reiterates

Strong performance boost Paragon FY results
Daniel Cancian | Sharecast | 25 Nov, 2014 08:11 - Updated: 09:31



First mortgages and consumer finance focused Paragon Group of Companies said strong performances across the board boosted its full year profit.
Profit before tax for the year ended 30 September rose from £104.8m to £122.8m, while underlying profit rose from £103.5m to £122.2m.
The group’s mortgages division saw an 82.5% increase to £656.6m in buy-to-let completions as the group broadened its distribution through its Paragon Mortgages and Mortgage Trust brands.
"The past year has seen considerable progress in the group's strategic plans and in the performance of its businesses,” Nigel Terrington, the group chief executive said.
“Paragon Mortgages and Idem Capital have witnessed significantly increased new business and are well positioned for further growth. Significant progress has also been achieved in diversifying further the group's funding sources.”
The firm added that the buy-to-let market continued to grow, supporting the private rented sector (PRS), which now accounts for 18% of the housing stock in England.
Paragon said that tenant demand strengthened throughout the year and recent forecasts suggested the PRS share of total housing stock would continue to grow in the future.
The group has proposed a final dividend of 6p per share compared to 4.8p per share in the previous financial year.
Existing businesses provided significant opportunities for growth and the potential to develop additional products.

the more i think about the more PAG is a really good buy, even now

the buy-to-let market is booming at the expense of outright sales for all sorts of fairly obvious reasons
i do not see this picture changing in anything like the near future

Paragon Group of Cos Reveals Share Buy-Back As Profit Jumps
LONDON (Alliance News) - Paragon Group of Companies PLC Tuesday reported a jump in full-year ...

Alliance News25 November, 2014 | 8:25AM
LONDON (Alliance News) - Paragon Group of Companies PLC Tuesday reported a jump in full-year pretax profit, driven by growth in its mortgages lending and investment divisions, helping it to launch a share buy-back programme and to raise its dividend.
In a statement, Paragon, which provides financing for buy-to-let mortgages as well as buying UK consumer debt, said it made a GBP122.8 million pretax profit in the year ended September 30, up from with GBP104.8 million in the prior year.
Paragon raised its dividend by 25% to 9.0 pence and said its share buy-back programme will initially be up to GBP50.0 million.
Paragon said its bank, which began taking retail deposits in June after receiving regulatory approval earlier this year, took GBP60.1 million in retail deposits by the end of the year. The group launched the bank in order to diversify its funding base, and wants to use it to finance an increasing proportion of buy-to-let business over time.
Although the bank reported a GBP6.4 million operating loss for the year, widening from GBP1.3 million in the prior year, that was more than offset by a rise in operating profit at Paragon Mortgages to GBP81.1 million, from GBP71.6 million, as well as a rise to GBP48.1 million from GBP34.5 million in investment division Idem Capital.
"Paragon Mortgages and Idem Capital have witnessed significantly increased new business and are well positioned for further growth. Significant progress has also been achieved in diversifying further the group's funding sources. In particular, the formation of Paragon Bank has provided us with the opportunity to diversify further both income streams and funding and we expect it to play an important role in the group's future plans," Nigel Terrington, chief executive, said in a statement.
Terrington said the dividend increase and the launch of the share buy-back programme are part of a move to improve shareholder returns as the group grows.
Paragon shares were up 4.1% at 393.40 pence on Tuesday, the best-performing stock on the FTSE 250.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
- See more at: http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/AN_1416903900092084200/paragon-group-of-cos-reveals-share-buy-back-as-profit-jumps.aspx#sthash.0E9wkhvK.dpuf

Shore Capital Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Paragon Group of Companies PLC (PAG)
Posted by Shane Hupp on Nov 25th, 2014

Paragon Group of Companies PLC logoParagon Group of Companies PLC (LON:PAG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Shore Capital in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.
A number of other firms have also recently commented on PAG. Analysts at Liberum Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Paragon Group of Companies PLC in a research note on Tuesday. They now have a GBX 442 ($6.92) price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Panmure Gordon reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Paragon Group of Companies PLC in a research note on Tuesday. They now have a GBX 500 ($7.82) price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Espirito Santo Investment Bank Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Paragon Group of Companies PLC in a research note on Tuesday. They now have a GBX 494 ($7.73) price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Paragon Group of Companies PLC currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of GBX 419.50 ($6.56).
Shares of Paragon Group of Companies PLC (LON:PAG) opened at 407.00 on Tuesday. Paragon Group of Companies PLC has a 1-year low of GBX 313.70 and a 1-year high of GBX 426.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 349.4 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 350.2. The company’s market cap is £1.243 billion.
The Paragon Group of Companies PLC is an United Kingdom-based holding company, engaged in the first mortgage and consumer finance businesses.

BROKER BUYS FOR PAG TODAY.........

Date Broker Rec. Price Old target price New target price Notes
25 Nov 14 RBC Capital Markets Outperform 408.05 - - Reiterates
25 Nov 14 Shore Capital Buy 408.05 - - Retains
25 Nov 14 Canaccord Genuity Buy 408.05 453.00 453.00 Reiterates
25 Nov 14 Espirito Santo Execution Noble Buy 408.05 494.00 494.00 Reiterates
25 Nov 14 Panmure Gordon Buy 408.05 500.00 500.00 Reiterates
25 Nov 14 Liberum Capital Buy 408.05 - 442.00 Reiterates

PAG got a lot going for it, as some resistance coming up pretty soon but if it gets through we should see a move for the high of the year at 425p. Some healthy brokerage following aswel

PAG Consensus recommendation

As of Nov 22, 2014, the consensus forecast amongst 25 polled investment analysts covering Paragon Group of Companies PLC advises that the company will outperform the market. This has been the consensus forecast since the sentiment of investment analysts improved on Feb 26, 2013. The previous consensus forecast advised investors to hold their position in Paragon Group of Companies PLC.

http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Forecasts?s=pag:lse

26 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 408.45 406.90 420.00 420.00 Retains

26 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG Barclays Capital Overweight 407.45 406.90 - 445.00 Reiterates