I am happy with the way matters are moving here.

Exane BNP Paribas Neutral 260.00 260.00 330.00 280.00 Downgrades

Citigroup Neutral 0.00 260.00 325.00 270.00 Retains

Goldman Sachs Conviction Sell 261.90 260.00 242.00 210.00 Reiterates

Canaccord Genuity Buy 261.70 260.00 325.00 300.00 Retains

Lots of choice there! In the short term I would favour somewhere around 240p before I considered buying in.

Yes - there isn't anything endearing atm.

House broker Cazenove comment:
"Organic growth was 6% (12% in developing and 4% in developed) compared to 6.9% in 2012 and within management’s previous guidance of 6% to 7% for the FY. We forecast 6.8% for the FY.
However, the operating margin is down 0.6%, compared to the 0.1% decline in FY 2012 due a range of factors 1) tough trading in Continental Europe 2) ongoing pricing pressure in the UK & Ireland cash business 3) the cost of new contract start ups 4) £6m of bad debts in the Africa region. The statement refers to ongoing improvement plans but due to costs associated with the closure of 30 prisons in the Netherlands, management expects the 60bp reduction to continue for the FY. We had forecast the margin rising by 20bp but comparability is difficult due to the Olympics impact and the proposed sale of the US Government Solutions business.
Estimates; we currently forecast 2013 EPS of 25.3p, 5% above Bloomberg consensus of 24.2p and 2014 EPS of 27.5p, 3% above consensus of 26.6p. However, comparability is somewhat impacted by the fact that some analysts such as us probably still include the US Government Solutions business which is being sold and this would take 2% off our EPS. We think Bloomberg consensus for 2013 may come down by 7% to 8% post this statement.
Recommendation; today’s news on the margin is disappointing, especially as the organic revenue has continued to hold up well and the shares have been recovering since the Olympic news. It may be that all the bad news on the margin is now out but the shares will probably decline on this. We have an Overweight mainly as we think the shares are cheap for the long term EPS growth they have achieved. G4S trades on a 2014E PER of 11.1x compared to the Business Services sector on 14.7x"

HL lunchtime synopsis has 8.42% sells v 91.58% buys.

Bill Gates buys into security firm G4S

LONDON | Mon Jun 10, 2013 1:42pm BST
(Reuters) - Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has increased his stake in G4S, the world's biggest security firm, which is looking to bounce back from a blunder over its staffing of the London 2012 Olympics.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust and Cascade Investment, an asset management firm owned by Bill Gates - one of the world's richest people - increased their combined holding in G4S to 3.2 percent last week by acquiring around 6 million more shares, G4S said on Monday.

G4S, which runs services such as cash transportation and prison management in over 125 countries, suffered a blow to its reputation when it failed to provide a promised 10,400 guards for the London Games. Following a profit warning in May, its chief executive stepped down last month.

Interesting chart and almost at the 52 week low. Big gap to fill on the way up.

edited!

Also edited!

At the 240 level again.

Harry - yes it is incorrect - if I could only remember which company I meant to post it on!

Lovely. Might have a few when it falls sub 240p.

(Probably SDY skinny)

Yep - already done!

240 gone.

Yes, I saw that. Next target 230p before I take the plunge!

Did you have a punt here skinny? Am still watching but prefer a little lower for entry point.

I did and made a whole 5 points.

Now just watching.

Panmure Gordon has cut its rating for security solutions group G4S from 'buy' to 'hold' and slashed its target price from 311p to 252p, saying that the shares are 'finely poised' between the bull and bear cases.

"The new management team clearly have a lot of work to do in order to clean up the portfolio, reduce balance sheet gearing and prove to the market that its medium term margin guidance of 7.0% is achievable," the broker said.

StockMarketWire.com
RBC Capital Markets has upgraded its recommendation on G4S (LON:GFS) to "outperform" from "sector perform" after conducting a scenario analysis on potential investments, disposals and a capital raising. The broker concluded that the market's biggest fear appears to be the debt position of the company, but the scenarios suggest improvement potential at a cost which is not prohibitive. The City broker has left its price target unchanged at 260 pence per share. The shares have fallen in value by around 3 per cent in the past month. Separately, Goldman Sachs repeated its "conviction sell" recommendation, cutting its price target to 194 pence per share (from 200 pence), in a note to investors last week.

I think the brokers might review their opinions now that there is yet another scandal breaking.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23272708