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A FTSE-100 company with a narrow bid-offer spread. Manufactures and supplies components and vehicle
structures to automotive, aerospace, mining and agricultural industries. Approximately 39,000 people work
in GKN companies and joint ventures in more than 30 countries

GKN corporate website - GKN investors website - Company history


(previous thread title no longer relevant, hence new thread)

Sun 05 Aug 2012
First-half numbers from specialist engineer GKN beat market expectations, with pre-tax profits leaping 43 per cent. Nigel Stein, chief executive, also gave some upbeat interviews, indicating that, while many of GKN’s customers were cautious about the rest of 2012, “no one is pressing alarm buttons” about the wider economy. This is good news for GKN as many of its products are used in markets with impressive long-term growth, such as the automotive, agricultural and commercial airline industries. The numbers resulted in one of the most bearish analysts on the shares upgrading his rating to hold. Last month, GKN made a good purchase – the aero engine division of Volvo. The business specialises in engine parts for commercial airliners, so is a good fit for GKN’s operations, which is focused on structural engineering. The shares are sitting at about the same level they were following the Volvo deal announcement, after drifting for most of the last month. The results failed to give the shares a lift, but Questor still thinks the shares represent reasonable value, given the prospects for its end markets. Trading on a current-year earnings multiple of 8.5 falling to 7.3 and yielding 3.4 per cent Questor says buy.
Friday tips round-up: RSA, Robert Walters

Previously flagged this one up.

Just gone long. Got some momentum behind it.

GKN


Brokers well onside............

GKN Broker Views

Date Broker Recommendation Price Old target price New target price Notes

17 Jan Credit Suisse Outperform 244.25 255.00 255.00 Reiterates
17 Jan Oriel Securities Buy 244.25 300.00 300.00 Reiterates
15 Jan Bank of America Merrill Lynch Buy 244.25 280.00 280.00 Reiterates
11 Jan Investec Buy 244.25 224.00 275.00 Upgrades

N@P Building society.

UBS has reiterated its 'buy' rating for engineering giant GKN and raised its target price for the stock from 230p to 270p, saying that "life should get better" after a difficult fourth quarter.

29 Jan GKN PLC GKN Citigroup Buy 224.45 241.50 290.00 290.00 Reiterates

SP Target 290p.

01 Feb GKN PLC GKN Oriel Securities Buy 245.65 240.80 300.00 - Reiterates

SP TARGET 300p.

05 Feb GKN PLC GKN Investec Buy 247.05 247.30 275.00 275.00 Reiterates

SP Target 275p

Brokers like GKN.......

GKN Broker Views

Date Broker Recommendation Price Old target price New target price Notes

05 Feb Investec Buy 248.75 275.00 275.00 Reiterates
01 Feb Oriel Securities Buy 248.75 300.00 - Reiterates
29 Jan Citigroup Buy 248.75 290.00 290.00 Reiterates
17 Jan Credit Suisse Outperform 248.75 255.00 255.00 Reiterates
17 Jan Oriel Securities Buy 248.75 300.00 300.00 Reiterates

N@P Building Society.

12 Feb GKN PLC GKN Investec Buy 252.95 257.90 275.00 275.00 Reiterates

SP Target 275p.

Annual results

Group Highlights(1)


· Group results reflect the continued strong organic growth and the contribution from acquisitions

· Record profits achieved in all four divisions

· Sales increased 13%, up 6% on an organic basis

· Management trading (operating) profit up 19%

· Trading margin improved to 8.1%

· Profit before tax up 19%

· Return on average invested capital of 18.1% (excluding Volvo Aero)

· Earnings per share up 17%
· Final dividend of 4.8 pence per share, giving a total for 2012 of 7.2 pence per share, a 20% increase

· Reported profit before tax of £588 million (2011: £351 million)

· Positive free cash flow of £213 million (2011: £147 million), excluding Volvo Aero

· Net debt of £871 million (2011: £538 million), reflecting the acquisition of Volvo Aero.

Ex-divi tomorrow (10th Apr) 4.8p

Broker Update

2013 GKN PLC GKN Cantor Fitzgerald Buy 370.70 370.70 - 420.00 Retains

SP Target 420p.

GKN solid update this morning. Organic growth 6% ahead.

Expect broker upgrades on that.

Jefferies has kept its 'buy' rating for engineering giant GKN after the company's well-received quarterly results on Tuesday.

The broker said that in a seasonally weak third quarter, results have come in ahead of its expectations: "Apart from Land Systems, where there was an 8% organic decline in sales (1H13, -8%), everything else did pretty much what one might reasonably have expected against a trading backdrop somewhat stronger than that in 1H13, in our view."

Third-quarter sales rose to £1,865m to £1,608m the year before, ahead of Jefferies' forecast for £1,825m. Meanwhile, trading profits rose from £114m to £152m, compared with the £145m estimate.

The broker said: "We have dithered about revising our price target for GKN. Setting a price target appears to require us to formulate stances on both the micro and the macro backdrops. For now, all we would venture is that GKN's 3Q13 performance appears to be a step forward on the micro-front."

The stock was 2.21% higher at 370.5p by mid-morning on Tuesday.

Broker Updates on GKN

25 Oct 2013 GKN PLC GKN Cantor Fitzgerald Buy 373.30 376.20 420.00 430.00 Retains

25 Oct 2013 GKN PLC GKN Credit Suisse Outperform 373.30 376.20 395.00 395.00 Reiterates

StockMarketWire.com
Barclays Capital has upgraded its recommendation on global engineering group GKN (LON:GKN) to 'overweight' from 'equal weight', stating that the "stars appear to aligning" but admitted that the diversified nature of its operations make it difficult to pinpoint what is driving earnings.

The broker said: "Valuing the business is tricky, it's not quite an auto stock (although it sits in the SXAP) nor is it an A&D stock and increasingly it seems the right peers are other UK industrials. "On that basis it looks inexpensive."
Analysts have set a price target of 440 pence a share.

Separately, Liberum Capital initiated coverage of GKN with a 'buy' rating and 440 pence target in a note to investors, on Wednesday.

"GKN is cheap, has a strong balance sheet and can surprise on growth for two reasons; Driveline momentum, particularly in China, and acquisitions, which could be 11% accretive," the broker said.
"Investment in new technologies may be the icing."

"stars appear to aligning" - a well known investment ideology!?

In today at 332 ..

Out on Friday 334 . £9 profit . Wish all my trades were this good !!

StockMarketWire.com
RBC Capital Markets has downgraded its recommendation on multinational automotive and aerospace components group GKN (LON:GKN) to 'underperform' from 'sector perform' in its Pan European Industrial Goods note, today.

The broker highlighted that the shares have re-rated since October and that it sees few signs of earnings momentum improving.

"We believe that the recent re-rating reflects higher valuation multiples elsewhere (automotive peers) more than belief that margins can increase to closer to peers and/or that GKN is morphing into an aerospace company," analysts added.

Target price was cut to 340 pence a share from 390 pence.