NEXT is a UK based retailer offering exciting, beautifully designed, excellent quality

fashion and accessories for men, women and children together with a full range of

homewares# NEXT distributes through three main channels:


■NEXT Retail, a chain of more than 500 stores in the UK and Eire;
■NEXT Directory, a home shopping catalogue and website with around 3 million active customers and international websites serving approximately 50 countries; and
■NEXT International, with almost 200 mainly franchised stores around the world#
Other businesses in the NEXT group include:■NEXT Sourcing, which designs, sources and buys NEXT branded products;
■Lipsy, which designs and sells its own branded younger women's fashion products through retail, internet and wholesale channels; and
The parent company, NEXT plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange #LSE: NXT#L# and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index# Total revenues for the year ended January 2012 were £3#5 billion with underlying pre-tax profits of £570 million# NEXT's head office is located in Enderby on the outskirts of Leicester, England

http://www.next.co.uk/

dailymail, Next-set-overtake-M-S-sales-4bn.

Special dividend - Ex dividend 09 Apr 2015 Next PLC (60 P)

broker-spotlight-next-


JP Morgan meanwhile liked the look of Next (LON:NXT) and swapped its 'neutral' stance for an 'overweight', raising its share price target to £77.

Proactive investor wednesdays-agenda-next-and-barclays-trading-statements-among-those-expected-

High Street fashion group Next saw shares fall last month, when it released full year numbers, and adopted a cautious tone on prospects for this year.

Overall sales increased by 7.2%, exceeding £4bn, which was the top end of guidance issued by the firm back in March 2014, and forecast pre-tax profit for 2015 of between £785mln and £835mln.

In its first quarter trading update on Wednesday , no doubt tradres will be interested to hear if there is any change in the forecast for sales growth of between 2.5% and 7.5% in 2015/16 and what guidance range is provided for full year profits, said the broker The Share Centre, which rates the stock 'hold'.

Investment research manager Sheridan Admans added: "The market will also be interested in any news of further special dividend payments."

The company has already announced a 60p special dividend to be paid in May and said it will consider further payments, if the share price remains above £68.27.

The broker also noted that since Next's chief executive is Lord Wolfson, a Conservative peer, it will be interesting to hear if there are any comments about how the imminent general election on May 7 may affect the group.

Trading Statement

Market Buzz

Next's strong Q1 update underpins full-year forecasts, says Investec

Wed, 29 April 2015


Next's strong Q1 update underpins full-year forecasts, says Investec



Next Quote more



Price: 7,305.00

Chg: 140.00

Chg %: 1.95%

Date: 15:19



FTSE 100 Quote


Price: 6,957.03 Chg: -73.50 Chg %: -1.05% Date: 15:20

Next surpassed forecasts with its first-quarter sales update on Wednesday, though Investec maintained a 'hold' rating on the stock.
The Anglo-South African bank said that the high street fashion and homeware retailer remains a "core holding" but pointed out that the stock is trading at 17 times current-year estimated earnings, compared with the wider sector at a multiple of 16.5.

"A positive Q1 trading update should be positively viewed: full-price growth of 3.2% benefitted slightly from the timing of a new range launch, but remains ahead of consensus, and the exit rate likely to have picked up as trading conditions improved," said analyst Alistair Davies.

Investec had pencilled in a 1.5% increase in full-year price brand sales, while the consensus forecast was for growth of 2%.

"Directory performance is encouraging given caution on credit customer file at prelims, with additional growth angles (cash/label/international) underpinning numbers in our view," Davies said.

Investec's full-year pre-tax profit forecast of £833m sits at the top end of company guidance of £785m-835m.

With the shares remaining above Next's buyback price limit of 6,827p over the first quarter, the company did not repurchase stock during the period but announced that it would pay a special dividend of 60p a share in August.

Davies said that, based on existing guidance of surplus cash returns of £360m, there is scope for a further 70p-a-share payout in the second half.

The broker maintained a 7,000p target price for the stock, which was up 2.8% at 7,367.2p by 11:19.

29 Apr Credit Suisse 7,450.00 Neutral
29 Apr Investec 7,000.00 Hold
29 Apr Canaccord... 7,500.00 Hold
29 Apr Espirito... 5,500.00 Sell
29 Apr JP Morgan... 7,700.00 Overweight
29 Apr Cantor... N/A Buy

30 Apr Berenberg 8,150.00 Buy

8 May Espirito... 5,500.00 Sell
8 May JP Morgan... 7,700.00 Overweight

12 Jun Berenberg 8,150.00 Buy

Market Buzz

Berenberg picks Asos, Next and Supergroup as top UK retail winners

Fri, 12 June 2015




Next Quote more






Price: 7,365.00

Chg: -15.00

Chg %: -0.20%

Date: 15:34



FTSE 100 Quote


Price: 6,767.53 Chg: -79.21 Chg %: -1.16% Date: 15:35

Berenberg has named Asos, Next and Supergroup as the "long-term winners" among UK fashion retailers, maintaining a 'buy' rating on all three stocks.
In a review of the sector, the broker highlighted that competition online for clothing retailers has increased, but stressed that a strong presence on the web will not be enough in itself to drive outperformance.

"We analyse the product choice, newness and exclusivity, market-positioning and proven international growth potential of each retailer to determine whether there is a sustainable competitive advantage," it said.

As for Asos, Berenberg believes its focus on the twenty-something niche market provides a "sustainable competitive advantage" and lower customer acquisition costs.

Next, meanwhile, continues to be ranked in the UK top 10 brands by WPP "and we believe its clear and consistent promotional policy attracts both customers and third party brands".

As for Supergroup, the broker reckons the company can benefit from an increased focus on product and is beginning to demonstrate its international growth potential.

Asos was trading up 1.3% in morning trade at 3,858p, Next gained 0.1% to 7,387.5p while Supergroup fell 0.3% to 1,158p.

Upgrades - 24 Jun Barclays... 9,000.00 Overweight

Market Buzz


Wed, 24 June 2015
Barclays upgrades Next to 'overweight'

Next Quote more

Price: 7,560.00

Chg: 85.00

Chg %: 1.14%

Date: 16:39



FTSE 100 Quote


Price: 6,844.80 Chg: 9.93 Chg %: 0.15% Date: 17:14

Barclays upgraded Next to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and raised the price target to 9,000p from 7,400p.
Barclays said its analysis suggests the market under-appreciates Next's growth opportunities both in Retail and Directory, which stem from real wage growth, a very promising Label business and online international expansion.

"Through an efficient and well invested operational model Next can benefit from a positive UK macro environment while incurring minimum capex, which justifies a sector premium valuation in our view," said Barclays.

The bank noted that Next currently trades in line with the sector, its lowest level in two years, yet it offers the highest dividend yield in Barclays' coverage at a time when high yield investments are scarce.

"We conclude that Next offers income, growth, stability and visibility at a good price," said Barclays.

At 10:37, Next shares were up 1.7% at 7,600p

Ex dividend Thurs 9 July - 160p

Market Buzz

Deutsche Bank lifts Next, M&S price targets

Mon, 13 July 2015



Deutsche Bank lifts Next, M&S price targets



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Price: 547.50

Chg: 9.50

Chg %: 1.77%

Date: 16:44



FTSE 100 Quote


Price: 6,737.95 Chg: 64.57 Chg %: 0.97% Date: 16:49

(ShareCast News) - Deutsche Bank lifted its price targets on Marks & Spencer and Next as it took a look at the UK clothing retailers.
DB said the UK fashion market continues to experience multiple structural trends.

"We make detailed analysis and projections of five of these: online, store churn, market share shifts, the returns on expansion and gross margin opportunities," it said.

While there is no clear winner across all five, it concluded that M&S retains the greater potential to deliver higher earnings growth and cash returns and raised its price target on the stock to 600p from 580p, while reiterating its 'buy' rating.

Meanwhile, it lifted its price target for Next to 7,100p from 6,950p but kept its 'hold' rating on the stock.

"Higher resultant earnings growth potential at M&S, lower current valuation and attractive risk-reward profile means it remains our preferred stock in UK fashion retail and a top sector pick."

Deutsche reckons Next will continue to outperform M&S on a market share basis, but said M&S still has the clearer gross margin opportunity and should generate more cash as a percentage of market cap in the next five years.

Over the next five years, it expects Next to be able to generate 31% of its current market capitalisation in cash, versus 44% at M&S.

"Next has the scope to return a further 10% by increasing leverage but we only see this as a likely outcome if shares fall back below the current buyback limit (6,827p)," said DB.

At 1307 BST, M&S shares were up 1.2% at 544.68p, while Next was up 0.7% at 7,558.25p.

Trading statement

28 Jul Investec 7,000.00 Hold

next-banks-170m-interest-charges from shoppers

Market Buzz

JPMorgan downgrades Next on valuation, prefers M&S

Fri, 07 August 2015


Marks & Spencer Group Quote more






Price: 546.00

Chg: -4.50

Chg %: -0.82%

Date: 16:45



FTSE 100 Quote


Price: 6,718.49 Chg: -28.60 Chg %: -0.42% Date: 17:14

(ShareCast News) - JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded Next to 'neutral' from 'overweight' following the stock's strong recent share price performance, with an unchanged price target of 7,700p.
JPM noted that the shares are up 13% since mid-April, as the company beat consensus expectations in both the first and second quarter, and now trade on 17.2x 2016 price-to-earnings ratio.

It pointed out that over the same period, Marks & Spencer shares fell 4% and now trade on 14.4x 2016 PE.

JPM said it prefers Marks & Spencer, which it rates at 'overweight' with a 600p price target, where the self-help gross margin story is ongoing. It said the group's solid first-quarter performance reflected an underlying improvement in the General Merchandise business.

"The 19% premium at which Next trades to Marks is unusually wide versus the 5-year average of 10%. We would also note that the premium was only 5% as recently as late May. With no particular catalysts on the horizon, we would therefore expect Marks to regain some of its recent underperformance given that the fundamental strengths of the M&S investment case remain intact," said the bank.

JPM expects the current discount between Next and M&S to narrow and says Marks' valuation is an attractive entry point.

At 1446 BST, Next shares were down 1.1% at 7,925p and M&S shares were 1.2% weaker at 544.18p.

Market Buzz

Next downgraded by Credit Suisse on minimum wage concerns

Fri, 28 August 2015



Next Quote more



Price: 7,885.00

Chg: -45.00

Chg %: -0.57%

Date: 15:14



FTSE 100 Quote


Price: 6,198.13 Chg: 6.10 Chg %: 0.10% Date: 15:15

(ShareCast News) - Next has been downgraded by Credit Suisse to an 'underperform' rating from a prior 'neutral' as the clothes retailer's "routes to growth are slowing".
Credit Suisse said it was increasingly concerned about the gradual slowdown in Next's near- and medium-term growth drivers.

The Swiss bank had been worrying about the tough comparative figures from last year that were making it hard for the FTSE 100 company to report growth this year, with next year's gross margins likely to be capped by the strength of the US dollar.

Moreover, the Next Directory catalogue arm is "looking increasingly mature" in the UK, while the contribution of UK bricks and mortar stores space is gradually slowing.

To this angst is now also added concerns over the impact to margins from George Osborne's new National Living Wage (NLW), with projections that it will either have to increase hourly pay from £7.04/hour to over £7.20 by April or restructure its pay to include bonuses, as well as matching the expected 6.7% yearly increase in NLW over the next four years.

With shares in Next having continued to re-rate higher on an absolute and relative basis since the start of the year, and with the shares now looking "extremely overbought" versus the FTSE100, CS downgraded its recommendation with a maintained 12-month target price of 7,450p.

"With Directory showing signs of maturity in the UK, and retail space growth contributing just 1.7% per annum to sales, profit growth is becoming largely reliant on margin expansion."

As operating margins already stand at near 20%, this task appears particularly demanding in light of the minimum wage increases