I here a whisper that Ashtead may become the target of a takeover bid. Anybody have any further news on this? I've been holding this little gem for a while now. Got in at 11.25p and then sold 2/3rds of my stock at 18p to break even. Can't quite decide when to take my mega profit. 1 by Christmas? Here's hoping.

We operate mainly in the US and UK, under the brand names Sunbelt Rentals and A-Plant.



Sunbelt Rentals A-Plant

Description The second largest equipment rental business in the US, Sunbelt continues to increase its market share rapidly. Sunbelt has 361 locations operating in major metropolitan centres across the US. The third largest equipment rental company in the UK with 109 locations nationwide, operating in a mature, stable market.

Employees 6,283
1,949

Principal operating regions US UK

LTM revenues to 31 January 2012 $1,451m
(£907m)
£183m

LTM operating
profit to 31 January 2012
$263m
(£164m) £5m




Ashtead provides rental solutions in all manner of situations including:

•Non residential construction markets - providing all types of construction equipment
•Facilities management - again providing all types of equipment for maintenance and repair rather than new construction
•Disaster relief - providing pumps and power generation equipment in all types of application ranging from assistance at times of flooding due to weather (e.g. following storms/hurricanes) to a burst water supply
•Major event management - providing power generation, lighting and other equipment for events such as the Super Bowl and other sporting events, major music concerts and festivals
•Traffic management - providing portable traffic systems to facilitate major engineering projects or clean-up after an accident

Final Results




Highlights



· Record Group pre-tax profit2 for the year of £131m (2011: £31m)

· Group EBITDA margins of 34% (2011: 30%)

· £476m of capital invested in the business

· Group RoI, including goodwill, grew to 12% (2011: 7%)

· Net debt to EBITDA leverage reduced to 2.2 times (2011: 2.7 times)

· Proposed final dividend of 2.5p making 3.5p for the year (2011: 3.0p)





http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4392659

Ashtead profits soar
StockMarketWire.com
Equipment rental group Ashtead reported record pretax profit for the year to end-April of £131m (2011: £31m), with total dividend up to 3.5p from 3p.

Group EBITDA margins were 34% (2011: 30%).

£476m of capital was invested in the business in the year.

Group RoI, including goodwill, grew to 12% (2011: 7%).

Net debt to EBITDA leverage was reduced to 2.2 times (2011: 2.7 times)

Ashtead proposed a final dividend of 2.5p making 3.5p for the year (2011: 3.0p).

CEO, Geoff Drabble, commented: 'We are delighted to report record Group profits, encouragingly delivered against a backdrop of end construction markets remaining at historically low levels.

'This performance demonstrates the success of our largely organic investment strategy and our ability to generate significant revenue growth from market share gains and translate this into stronger margins through improved operational efficiency.

'The momentum we have established, and the flexibility provided by our strong balance sheet, allows us to anticipate further growth with or without end market recovery. As a result, it is likely that our profits in the coming year will be ahead of our previous expectations.'

..Ashtead raises guidance

AHT.L 264.00 +13.60

......
LONDON (ShareCast) - Ashtead Group (LSE: AHT.L - news) , the construction equipment leasing firm, has reported record profits as tight cost control and strong demand in the US helped the firm beat analyst expectations. In the 12 months to the end of April revenue improved by 20% compared to the previous year, hitting £1,135m, reflecting a strong performance from the US division known as Sunbelt Rentals. The full year figure was just ahead of the consensus forecast of £1,120m. The revenue growth, cost control, lower net financing costs and several business improvement programmes combined to generate underlying pre-tax profits of £131m compared to just £31m in the prior year and better than the £122.4m the market had been expecting. The firm notes that "exchange rate fluctuations did not have a significant effect on year-on-year comparisons." Ashtead is split into US and British operations. Sunbelt Rentals is by far the bigger outfit, generating revenues of £945.7m against £782.7m in 2010/2011. It is the second biggest company of its type in the United States. In Britain, Ashtead's operations run under the A-Plant brand, which is the third biggest equipment rental firm in the UK; its revenue contribution was £188.9m versus £165.8m. Interestingly, Sunbelt's margin was 35.9% while A-Plant only achieved 26.2% and that comes in the context of ongoing difficulties in the US construction market. Ashtead's Chief Executive, Geoff Drabble, said of the results: "We are delighted to report record group profits, encouragingly delivered against a backdrop of end construction markets remaining at historically low levels. "The momentum we have established, and the flexibility provided by our strong balance sheet, allows us to anticipate further growth with or without end market recovery. As a result, it is likely that our profits in the coming year will be ahead of our previous expectations." Ashtead shares had risen 6.3% by 8:43. Over the last 10 years the stock has gained 440% in value, the FTSE 100 (Euronext: VFTSE.NX - news) has risen just 21.4%. BS

..

..Questor share tip: Ashtead benefits from constrained construction budgets

By Garry White | Telegraph – 10 minutes ago

Plant-hire group Ashtead posted full-year profits that were 6pc ahead of market expectations. There could be more outperformance ahead. Questor says buy.

Ashtead 252p Questor says BUY

Ashtead hires construction equipment and has tapped into a trend of companies renting rather than buying plant in order to preserve their cash. It also continued to invest through the downturn, despite a slump in construction.

The group operates as Sunbelt in the US and A-Plant in the UK. The lion’s share of its revenues more than 80pc are generated across the Atlantic (Stuttgart: A0J3C9 - news) , so a US market recovery is very important for Ashtead. The company has also seen benefits from the shale-gas boom.

The company has one of the largest market shares of the fragmented US market and smaller rivals have had difficulty investing in their businesses. This has given Ashtead an edge.

In the year to April, revenues rose by 21pc to £1.13bn and pre-tax profits jumped to £135m from £1.7m.

This demonstrates the company’s leverage to any improvement in the construction market as it has a relatively high fixed-cost base. Despite these costs and the continued investment, the company was always profitable during the financial crisis.

The total dividend is 3.5p, with the final payment of 2.5p slated for September 7. The shares trade without this payment from August 15 and the prospective yield in the current year is 1.4pc.

Trading on a current year earnings multiple of 13.3, falling to 11, the shares are at a premium to its US-listed peer United Rentals (Frankfurt: 911443 - news) . However, upgrades are likely, as is more infrastructure spending. Buy.

..

Good interest in this share today, up 6%

Moving up nicely. Very large after hours buy tonight.
Just sitting under a 52 week high and a all time high.

Performing very well, another large buy after the bell

AHT

Taken a long position here (have a few tranches). Was on verge of a breakout (still is) and results on the 4th of September which could be rather solid. Might push it through the 52 week high.

Brokers well and truly behind AHT.

P/E of just 13.2 to 2013 and EPS rise of 35.7%

Rather cheap imo.

Ashtead Group PLC

FORECASTS 2013 2014
Date Rec Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Panmure Gordon [A]
27-08-12 BUY 160.00 20.30 3.80 180.00 22.70 4.24
Westhouse Securities [A]
23-08-12 BUY
Peel Hunt [A]
15-08-12 BUY 159.99 20.19 3.90 185.58 23.20 4.30
Seymour Pierce [A]
02-07-12 BUY 167.10 21.80 186.30 24.30
Canaccord Genuity Ltd
27-06-12 None 163.50 20.70 3.85 200.70 25.40 4.24
Numis Securities Ltd [A]
20-06-12 BUY 149.60 19.50
Investec Securities [A]
07-12-11 BUY 102.49 13.21 3.31 120.04 15.47 3.47

2013 2014
Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)
Consensus 163.50 20.70 3.85 200.70 25.40 4.24
1 Month Change 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
3 Month Change 20.24 2.52 0.28 29.10 3.00 0.24

Notes to forecasts
(21 Jun 2012) A flag refers to outlook


GROWTH
2012 (A) 2013 (E) 2014 (E)
Norm. EPS 360.00% 35.77% 22.70%
DPS 4.78% 25.41% 10.13%

INVESTMENT RATIOS
2012 (A) 2013 (E) 2014 (E)

EBITDA £370.60m £m £m
EBIT £167.70m £221.00m £263.20m
Dividend Yield 1.12% 1.41% 1.55%
Dividend Cover 4.97x 5.38x 5.99x
PER 17.92x 13.20x 10.76x
PEG 0.05f 0.37f 0.47f
Net Asset Value PS 28.64p p p

Some Bullish Broker target SPs
for AHT..........

Ashtead Group Broker Views
Date Broker Recommendation Price Old target price New target price Notes

24 Aug Oriel Securities Buy 276.35 284.00 - Retains
18 Jul Oriel Securities Buy 276.35 284.00 284.00 Retains
18 Jul Jefferies International Buy 276.35 320.00 320.00 Reiterates
13 Jul Credit Suisse Outperform 276.35 316.00 316.00 Reiterates
13 Jul UBS Buy 276.35 340.00 340.00 Retains

1st Quarter Results


Highlights



· Record Q1 pre-tax profits1 of £61m, up 76% at constant exchange rates

· Sunbelt's rental revenue increases17%

· Group EBITDA margins rise to 40% (2011: 35%)

· Long-term debt refinanced giving significantly lower cost and longer maturities

· Board now anticipates a full year result materially ahead of its previous expectations



http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4438221

Excelent results.

Ashtead saw shares jump after saying this morning that full-year results will be "materially ahead of our previous expectations". Underlying profit before tax in the first quarter rose 82% year-on-year while underlying revenues gained 21%.

"Given this early stage of the recovery, we see further outperformance from re-rating as well as scope for further positive earnings surprises," said analyst Andrew Nussey from Peel Hunt.

Well done here chaps :-)

Dream day here on a rotten market day.

Broker view
Bhaven Patel, senior trader at Accendo Markets, said Ashtead's position at the top of the FTSE 250 on Tuesday morning comes as little surprise given the delivery of stellar results and extra sparkle with yet another rise in full-year profit guidance.

"The share price rise of +40% in the past year comes amidst uncertainty in manufacturing sectors around the world - however, given that companies are more likely to rent rather than buy expensive equipment, conditions have been well suited. If Federal Reserve stimulus measures and US election promises are made to boost industrial production Stateside, there may be no stopping the realisation of the 'American Dream' for the UK company," he commented.

Analysts Paul Jones and Mike Allen at Panmure Gordon held their 'buy' recommendation and upped their target price from 317p to 344p. Meanwhile, Jefferies lifted its target from 360p to 320p as it maintained its 'buy' stance

Ashtead Chairman buys shares after Q1 results
By Benjamin Chiou

Date: Tuesday 04 Sep 2012


Chris Cole, the non-executive Chairman at plant-hire group Ashtead, raised his stake in the firm on the same day that the company revealed it would beat its initial forecasts for the full year.

Cole purchased 30,000 shares of the FTSE 250 firm at 315p each for a total of £94,500. The transaction brings his total shareholding to 132,082, equal to 0.02% of the issued share capital.

Ashtead saw shares jump nearly 12% on Tuesday after saying that full-year results will be "materially ahead of our previous expectations".

Underlying profit before tax in the first quarter rose 82% year-on-year while underlying revenues gained 21%.

"Given this early stage of the recovery, we see further outperformance from re-rating as well as scope for further positive earnings surprises," said analyst Andrew Nussey from Peel Hunt.


Top Director Buys

Ashtead Group (AHT)
Director name: Mr Christopher Cole
Amount purchased: 30,000 @ 315.00p
Value: £94,500

Tempus also notes the impressive fortunes of construction equipment rental firm Ashtead. It moved into the US market in 2006, just before all hell broke loose during the financial crisis. But the US division (SunBelt) is raking in revenues at an extraordinary rate (17% up in the first quarter) because US builders don’t want to buy their own equipment with the market in such dire shape. Analysts are now busy lifting full-year targets and the group has even begun paying an interim dividend. Trading at 14 times earnings Tempus says buy.

MIDAS UPDATE: Shares in Ashtead Group double since our tipBy Joanne Hart
PUBLISHED: 22:33, 8 September 2012 | UPDATED: 22:33, 8 September 2012
Comments (0) Share

..Shares in Ashtead Group have more than doubled since September 2011, when Midas last looked at the stock.

Back then, they were 1401⁄2p. Today they are 3313⁄4p and should continue to rise.

The company said last week that trading was extremely encouraging in the three months to July 31 and results for the full year should be materially above analysts’ expectations.


Hire: Ashtead is the second largest equipment rental group in the America
Brokers have increased their forecasts and are enthusiastic about the company’s prospects. Ashtead does what Vp used to do – plant hire for the construction industry.

There is one big difference, however. Ashtead has a huge business in America, where it is the second largest equipment rental group in the country.


Construction has been badly hit by the economic downturn in the US, too, but certain trends are under way in the industry, which mean that Ashtead is still doing incredibly well.

In Britain, 75 per cent of building equipment is rented out and a few large, well-established businesses dominate the market. In America, contractors have traditionally bought their own gear.
In 2001, only 20 per cent of equipment was rented. By 2007, that had doubled to 40 per cent, it now sits at about 45 per cent and is expected to continue creeping up over the coming years.
Contractors are realising the benefits of hiring machinery as and when they need it and also see the advantages of using new or almost new equipment.
The US rental market is extremely fragmented, however, and many operators are small, independent firms that are finding it increasingly difficult to buy new products.

Ashtead, as a large, established business, is gaining market share from these smaller companies and in the three months to July, pre-tax profits surged 76 per cent to £61.4million.

Almost all of the growth came from the group’s American business, a pattern that is expected to continue for the next two to three years. Brokers raised profit forecasts for the year to next March from about £160million before last week’s trading update to more than £185million now. That compares with £130 million for the year to last March.

Midas verdict: Midas first looked at Ashtead in April 2007, when the shares were 156p. Last September, they were 1401⁄2p and we suggested sticking with them. Investors who did have been well rewarded and may wish to sell 30 per cent of their stock and bank some profits while the going is good. But they would be wise to keep most of their shares, as this company should continue to deliver for at least another couple of years.