Fallen 25% om profit warning... one to steer clear of..

nice rise but much uncertainty here

however massive interest and buy pressure apparently - opportunity seems to be the buzz word lol

hanging on the last sentence mainly................ this migh be very good - yeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaa

Following the announcement on Monday 31 October regarding the temporary suspension of its sales and marketing activity, HomeServe is updating the market on its current progress. HomeServe restarted inbound telephone sales activity in a limited way on Friday 4 November and has since been progressively increasing the number of retrained staff taking inbound calls and rolling this out on a region by region basis. HomeServe will also be reviewing its direct mail marketing material ahead of the next mailings, which are currently scheduled for the new year. HomeServe has started the process of developing new outbound sales scripts but will only recommence outbound calls when fully confident of meeting the required standards. In relation to complaints from last winter, the company has implemented a process to review all cases. HomeServe will be re-contacting any customers whose complaint may not have been appropriately dealt with to ensure that all issues are fully resolved. HomeServe continues to have a constructive and regular dialogue with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) who have been kept fully informed of all the above actions. HomeServe continues to handle customer claims as usual with over 14,000 home emergency repairs completed during the last week. The company has seen very few customers cancelling their policies.

for the cost of a phone call....

There will be a conference call for analysts and investors at 8.00am on Thursday 10 November via 0203 140 0668, pin 986566#. A replay of the recording will be available via 0203 140 0698 pin 380866#.

one word - yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

against my better jusdgement bought earlier - didnt get bottom but nicely up now and expect more before cob - fill yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee boots :-)

what a retrace!! no end in sight presently!! add a 1 lol!!

well done gibby.

cheers mitzy - hope all going well for you also

Not bad.

glad to hear it - that is better than plain bad!!

just ticked to a new level here

Regained yesterday's fall atm.

cheers skinny looks like 280s any moment - still going strong - there is a lot of general chatter and buying pi & ii - going good :-))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

i'm out now - cashed in gla

Questor share tip: Homeserve's crisis means it's time to sell


Garry White, 7:16, Thursday 17 November 2011

Homeserve has been dubbed the "fifth emergency service" because it provides insurance for domestic crises. However, the company now finds itself in the City's version of A&E.

Homeserve 267p +1 Questor says SELL

In a shock announcement at the end of October, the company, which sell products such as boiler repair cover and plumbing and drainage insurance, said it has suspended all of its telesales and marketing activities following a review by Deloitte.

The bean counters identified problems with mis-selling, not with the products that were sold but with the way they were sold. As a result, all sales and marketing activity were stopped. After the announcement, the shares plunged about 55pc over the next week-and-a-half.

Some in-bound sales activity has started again and the shares bounced by about a fifth after the group revealed that the news had not prompted large-scale cancellations. Homeserve said only 153 out of 3m UK customers had cancelled their home maintenance contracts.

This looks positive, but there is still a real possibility of a Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigation, which could add more confusion to the mix. The FSA has been tight-lipped, as usual, on whether an investigation will take place. If there is one, there could be further falls in the share price.

Indeed, the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal means that the regulator may be keen to show that its regulatory teeth do bite. In a speech at Mansion House in the City in September, Lord Turner, FSA chairman, indicated there would be "a more active preventative approach, ensuring that mis-selling on the scale of PPI is nipped in the bud".

A major growth strand for the business is its move into the US, though an FSA investigation is likely to make US partners reluctant to sign up with the company.

Questor has not covered the shares for some time. The last time a buy rating was put on the shares was 14.44 on September 30, 2008. However, there was a five-for-one share split in July 2010, which means the adjusted tip price was 288.8p. This means the loss from the recommendation is just 7pc. Questor also advised holding the shares in April 2009, when the adjusted price was 256p.

After the recent falls, there could be real long-term value in the shares if current issues are rectified, but there are still many questions that need to be answered. Although the cancellation figures suggest there has not been significant reputational damage so far, it could be too early to say whether this will become a problem. Last year, the group retained about 82pc of customers. It will be interesting to see the client retention rate at the end of the current year.

After the plunge, the shares are now trading on a March 2012 earnings multiple of 9.4, falling to 8.5 times, and the prospective yield is 4.4pc. City analysts are split on what to do. Of the 18 analysts monitored by Bloomberg, 6 say buy, 8 say hold and 4 have a sell rating.

The shares are not likely to move much higher for some time and there is an opportunity cost for investors who continue to hold the shares. Simply, the shares are unlikely to recover quickly and there are better opportunities elsewhere. This means that Questor would use the recent bounce in the shares to exit. Sell.

Half Yearly Report.

-- Half year financial results
- Revenue up 25% and adjusted profit before tax(1) up 10%
- Adjusted earnings per share(2) up 11% and interim dividend up 10%
- 5.1m customers worldwide, up 11%, with policy numbers up 13% to 11.8m
- Global retention rate remains high at 83.3% (HY11: 83.9%)
- Net debt reduced to GBP36.6m (HY11: GBP61.5m)
-- UK - reinvigorating our customer focus

Down 10% on the report.
Could expect 180p here.

Just gone short on HOMESERVE. HSV Poor Fundys and poor Technicals. Loads of debt. Target 205/200ish.

Brokers turned negative since Interims.

Hemscott premium....

Homeserve PLC

FORECASTS 2012 2013
Date Rec Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Execution Noble
08-02-12 NEUT 127.60 28.10 11.50 111.10 24.10 9.90

Seymour Pierce
08-02-12 RED

N+1 Brewin
07-02-12 HOLD 126.10 26.70 11.30 118.80 25.70 12.20

Peel Hunt
07-02-12 SELL 127.95 27.65 11.33 118.67 25.47 11.33

2012 2013
Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Consensus 126.28 27.32 11.47 121.88 26.27 12.03
1 Month Change 0.23 0.02 0.06 -1.24 -0.28 0.01
3 Month Change -4.95 -1.14 -0.17 -22.78 -5.02 -1.05


GROWTH
2011 (A) 2012 (E) 2013 (E)

Norm. EPS 20.97% 17.49% -3.84%
DPS 34.25% 17.00% 4.93%

INVESTMENT RATIOS
2011 (A) 2012 (E) 2013 (E)

EBITDA £126.64m £135.21m £128.81m
EBIT £106.80m £128.54m £117.09m
Dividend Yield 4.08% 4.78% 5.01%
Dividend Cover 2.37x 2.38x 2.18x
PER 10.32x 8.79x 9.14x
PEG 0.49f 0.50f -2.38f
Net Asset Value PS 8.98p 104.32p 122.61p

Stock was tipped in Investors Inteligence
today as a short and added to their
portfolio.....



Homeserve - is a weak stock and should be shorted. Prices are encountering massive overhead resistance and the path of least resistance is therefor south.

Portfolio Update:

We open a short in Homeserve on its profound price weakness