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

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

PAG

From The FT......

Paragon buoyed by buy-to-let market
Emma DunkleyAuthor 26/11/2014


Paragon Group, the specialist lender, said profits had reached a record level this year as the growth of the buy-to-let market in the UK gathered pace.
The group said underlying pre-tax profits rose 18 per cent to £122m for the year ending September 30, up from £104m last year.

Profits were buoyed by the group widening its distribution of buy-to-let loans across its Paragon Mortgages and Mortgage Trust brands, which helped spur an 82.5 per cent increase in buy-to-let completions to £656.6m.
Nigel Terrington, chief executive, said there was “ongoing demand” for rented property and that Paragon was “in the thick of it”.
“There are more people renting than in the past,” he said. “This has also been compounded by the Mortgage Market Review coming in. The likely reduction of available finance to homeowners pushes up more rental demand.”
Savills, the estate agent, forecasts the UK private rental sector will grow to represent 24 per cent of total housing stock over the next five years, up from 18 per cent at present.
Idem Capital, the specialist debt purchasing division of Paragon, also contributed positively to profit growth, increasing its investments net of debt by 89.3 per cent to £175.7m.
Mr Terrington said large banks will increasingly offload their non-core divisions and that bid-offer spreads have narrowed on these assets because of a better funding environment, meaning non-core portfolios are now more likely to sell.
Paragon’s profits would have been higher had it not been for a £6.4m loss as a result of costs associated with establishing its new bank, which launched in February.
“But we’re not trying to challenge major UK banks; we’re a specialist lender,” said Mr Terrington. “We have no plans for branches or current accounts, as we focus on narrow areas where we think we can do things better than others.”
The bank offers a range of savings products and loans for consumers and small businesses and was initially injected with £12.7m of capital from Paragon Group.
Paragon bank started taking retail deposits in June and gathered £60.1m by the year-end.
The group said its capital position remained strong, with a core tier one ratio of 19.7 per cent and a leverage ratio of 8.3 per cent.
Paragon has also announced an initial £50m share buy-back programme to help improve shareholder returns, Mr Terrington said.
Dividend payments for the year will increase 25 per cent to a total of 9p as a result of the profit increase, the group added.

By Emma Ann Hughes | Published Nov 25, 2014
Paragon buy-to-let completions up 82.5%

Buy-to-let completions at Paragon rose 82.5 per cent to £656.6m for the year to the end of 30 September 2014.

Today (25 November), Paragon reported a lending total of £500,000 by Paragon Bank for the 12 months to the end of September, which commenced its buy-to-let operations during September 2014.

The indexed loan-to-value of the overall buy-to-let portfolio stood at 71.7 per cent at 30 September 2014 compared with 78.4 per cent at the end of 2013.

Annualised redemption rate on the total buy-to-let portfolio was 4.1 per cent in 2014 compared to 2.5 per cent in 2013, reflecting increased housing market activity.

Paragon Mortgages maintains a significant presence for the group in this growing sector of the UK mortgage market, contributing £80.5m to underlying group profit, a 14.5 per cent increase.

The aggregate new business pipeline stood at £414.8m at the year-end, 78.9 per cent above the level at 30 September 2013, underpinning strong growth rates into the new financial year.

Nigel Terrington, chief executive of Paragon, said: “The past year has seen considerable progress in the group’s strategic plans and in the performance of its businesses. 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.

“The group benefits from a strong capital position and I am pleased to announce a 25 per cent increase in the dividend, as well as an initial £50m share buy-back programme, as we seek to complement strong and sustainable growth with improving shareholder returns.”

emma.hughes@ft.com

7 Nov 2014 Paragon Group of... PAG Berenberg Buy 414.05 403.10 450.00 450.00 Retains

SP target 450p

PAG Paragon .....

.hTTp://www.cityam.com/1416967256/paragon-banks-shift-home-owning

Buy-to-let baby boomers to become Britain's latest tax victims
Withdraw your pension to buy a second home and face punishing tax hit

By Anna White, Property correspondent2:30PM GMT 30 Nov 2014 Comments51 Comments
Enterprising baby boomers who choose to withdraw their pension in a lump sum to invest in a rental property will face a tax bill worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
After the annuity reforms come into effect in April 2015, that will allow people to withdraw their pension in one go instead of being drip fed an annual income, it is likely many pensioners will consider sinking it into property. But they need to think twice, experts at PwC have warned.
An individual taking out £500,000 to buy a £750,000 second home, supplemented by a mortgage, will have to find nearly £200,000 to cover the tax bill.
A pensioner withdrawing £200,000 to buy a £500,000 home - around the average asking price of a home in London - will pay around £80,000 in tax, according to the giant accountancy firm.
While those who draw back a £100,000 lump sum to buy a £250,000 will pay between £29,000 and £36,000 dependend on tax code


A individual who wants to fund a buy-to-let project is hoping for house price appreciation over time and an income from the yield. However, the whole transaction could be taxed at as many as five different junctures.
They will face income tax when the amount is withdrawn, stamp duty on buying the property, income tax on the rental stream, plus capital gains tax if sold. And inheritance tax could eventually play a part, explained Iain McCluskey, tax director at PwC.
"The reforms to annuity are net positive for the Chancellor," he said.
The over 55s, known as the baby boomer generation, are comfortable with property as an investment having made 200pc house price appreciation in 20 years.
This and the UK's historically low interest environment will drive people to put their savings and pension into property, Mr McClusky added.
"While this generation trusts investments that you can see and touch they should also be wary of the extra costs on top of tax, such as maintenance of a property. They must exercise caution when taking out one lump sum and understand tax circumstances in one year."



So complicated are these latest tax reforms that the Government is providing a free tax advice service, face-to-face, over the phone and via a website, to help people choose the right pension product.
However, income tax relief on a quarter of a pension pot means that those with a big enough sum could use the first 25pc for a deposit to buy a home, with a mortgage, and avoid the first income tax hit, alhtough getting a big mortgage becomes far harder at this stage in life.
PwC does not expect further property tax announcements in this week's Autumn Statement.
"There is too little time to implement any fundamental reforms ahead of the general election," said Alex Henderson, head of tax at PwC.
However, leading property group, JLL, is calling for an overhaul of the council tax system and for Government to address the UK's housing shortage.

LATEST BROKER VIEWS

Date Broker New target Recomm.
1 Dec HSBC 410.00 Neutral
27 Nov Berenberg 450.00 Buy
26 Nov Numis 289.00 Sell
26 Nov Canaccord... 495.00 Buy
26 Nov Barclays... 445.00 Overweight
26 Nov JP Morgan... 420.00 Overweight
25 Nov RBC Capital... N/A Outperform
25 Nov Shore Capital N/A Buy
25 Nov Canaccord... 453.00 Buy
25 Nov Numis 244.00 Sell
Broker Recommendations for Paragon Group of Companies (The)