Its come along way since these were a pair of old boots,just bought today mid 280s,spent a few pounds in there of late,so why not!

Noticed NT went short @ 409 target 350 stop 420 interesting to see who will be right :O)

Halfords upgraded by Citigroup
20th September 2013, 09:09

Citi’s analysts appear to be seeing some sense behind Halfords [LON:HFD] strategic changes, such as focusing on the more profitable areas such as car maintenance and cycling, and now believe the company is on track to deliver growth, albeit recognising that internal targets are focused on 2016 and beyond.

The broker has therefore increased its price target to 465 pence a share (from 325 pence) and upgraded its recommendation to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.

“We have previously been Neutral on this stock as we believe that some of Halfords’ core categories are not sources of growth and that it will take time, capital expenditure and operating cost investments in order to overcome Halfords’ structural issues,” the broker said.

“These investments were announced at the strategic update in May. It is now clear that Halfords aim is to concentrate on growing Car Maintenance and Cycling categories, focusing on the highly profitable service element of the customer proposition.”

Of course, not all brokerage houses agree and it should come as no great surprise to note that only 31 per cent of brokers rate the shares as a ‘buy’, while 46 per cent rate them as a ‘hold’ and 23 per cent as a ‘sell’, according to Broker Forecasts consensus data.

I dont know how Halfords makes its money. Every time I go into one of several near me there is hardly anyone in. Do they make most of their money on line?. If so then they could save a fortune by closing low performing branches.

Neutral 396.80 399.50 400.00 400.00 Reiterates

Oh shit limit short triggered on the spreads @ 396.0 (Dec) dangerous play leading up to results.

Still above 50DMA, so short not a done deal just yet?

Looks like a bearish engulfing candle......

Stop to entry for risk free trade.

Stop to 386.0 to lock in + 10

Out for now @ 377.0 + 21

Half Yearly Report

Key Points For The Half:
· Strong Q1 for Retail followed by +6.6% LFL growth in Q2 despite the tough prior-year comparator
· Focus areas of Cycling and Car Maintenance performed particularly well
· Retail management team strengthened, including the addition of Emma Fox as Commercial Director
· The Getting Into Gear programme in Retail progressing well, including: the launch of new recruitment process and colleague training programme, a new Halfords.com website and a number of store refurbishments
· Autocentres performance driven by both market and operational challenges; new Autocentres CEO to be appointed
· Interim dividend of 5.2 pence per share, in line with prior guidance

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 0.00 405.00 440.00 Reiterates

N+1 Singer Buy 0.00 - 540.00 Retains

Buy Halfords, the Sunday Telegraph’s Questor column advised. The shares jumped almost 15% when the car maintenance and bikes group beat profit forecasts but there could be further to go in its retail revival. The post-Olympic cycling boom and warm summer prompted more cycle sales than expected and Halfords is overhauling its stores and marketing to tap into cities’ push to improve infrastructure for those on two wheels. Questor said buy at 303.5p in October 2012 and, with the group’s revival taking hold, it repeated the advice with the shares currently trading at 476.5p.


http://sharecast.com/news/sunday-share-tips-talktalk-fyffes-halfords/21282650.html

Ex-divi wed 18th Dec (5.2p)

Up 4.3% today,

TS on 16 Jan.

Interim Management Statement

Key Points for the 15-week Period
· Cycling: significant growth across the board including an excellent performance from Accessories and Children's bikes
· Car Maintenance: strong sales of Workshop tools partially offset by subdued demand for parts and winter products. Fitting of parts reached record levels despite the mild weather conditions
· Car Enhancement: improved year-on-year Car Cleaning performance outweighed by an increased decline in Sat Nav
· Travel Solutions: seasonal and kids' offers resonated well, accompanied by growth in Travel Equipment
· Online Retail: sales grew by 13.8%, with online representing a record 11.7% of total Retail sales
· Autocentres: improved LfL performance with a further four centres opened; new MD of Autocentres appointed

Financial Position and Outlook
There has been no material change in the Group's financial position which remains sound.

Whilst the mix of sales in the period towards Cycling will have adversely influenced the Retail gross-margin performance, our expectations and all guidance for the full year remain unchanged.

Investec Buy 484.55 520.00 520.00 Reiterates

JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral 0.00 460.00 460.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Sell 0.00 410.00 410.00 Reiterates

Citigroup Buy 492.50 492.50 545.00 550.00 Reiterates

Annual Financial Report

Financial Highlights
· Group revenues up 7.9% (Q4 LFL: Retail: +9.9%; Autocentres +4.3%)
· Cycling LFL growth of 19.4% (Q4 Cycling LFL: +41.6%)
· Online Retail growth of +17.7% (Q4:+27.5%);
· Retail costs and margins in line with guidance
· Basic earnings per share up 4.0%
· Capital expenditure up 61.7% to £30.4m, supporting the first year of the Retail Getting Into Gear strategy
· Free cashflow of £39.5m, after a one-off tax settlement of £21.0m; Net Debt to EBITDA at 1.0:1

Business Highlights
· A year of Cycling underpinned by a major cycle-range refresh and an increased presence in the Parts, Accessories and Clothing market
· Strong results emanating from our Service Revolution, with a significant rise in customer-feedback scores
· 27 stores trading in the refreshed format as our Stores Fit To Shop rollout continued
· A new Retail website launched in November 2013 with a material increase in conversion
· New leadership for Autocentres focusing on colleagues and the customer experience