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.

Hi starfrog

I too have been holding this for some time and have a target sell porice of 70 pence.
Is your 'whisper' a strong one??????????? I must admit I have not heard anything.

The stock still looks strong on the graph and I am considering top-choping and running the profit because I think it still has a way to go. On its own merit I think its good for 80 pence by christmas, if a bid comes along I think we could see the quid

. Rob

Rob

The 'whisper' actually came from the home page of this website sometime last week (one of the days where it did a big jump again) - hidden amongst the constant gainers of the day info. There was no link to any newsitem, hence my question if anybody new anything. Looking at there latest trading statement I would surmise that the increase in the sp has come about as a result of all the dditional tool hiring that they have done following on from the succession of hurricanes to hit the States. I anticipate the price to keep going north as we approach the interims in December. However, election results across the pond may have some effect on US stocks in general. I think you should reach your 70p target - I might think about bailing out then too. Don't like holding too long if I'm not sure what is moving the price.

Regards

Hi Starfrog

Interim results due 16th December............. the run up to then will be interesting....... think I will top chop @ 70 but run the profits as like you say they are benefiting from tool/plant hire that has resulted from the hurricane damage. This work is ongoing and aht are still likely to be reaping the benefits into next year........... do you just take profit or sell all?...........

cheers. rob

just few days away from results ... has been on a steady upward trend.. results expected to be above 'expectations'

Results are well above expectations but concerns about the weak dollar mean that future earnings may not be as high. However, this company (imo) has been demonstrating a great turnaround since restructuring earlier in the year. All divisions are in profit and there is no reason to see why this trend will not continue.

Initial reaction to today's interim report is creating a drop in share price (a bit of an over-reaction imo) but this presents a good buying opportunity. Watch the institutions top up.

Could not agree more StarFrog - I sold yesterday at a 34% profit and have bought in again this morning at 75p on the expectation that the US dollar will not remain weak (imho)

Oakapples142 - I decided to keep my holding for a while longer. I'm waiting for at least a pound, or might even wait longer. I was in at 11p last year, but have a lot of belief in this company. Thinking about topping up at the moment. I think it's reached its bottom for today's drop.

I'm hoping that they will soon return to a dividend policy, in which case I will keep it until my retirement.

I agree with you that the dollar will not remain week for ever - but it may take a couple of years.

Down she goes....then up she comes. Good example of bearish then bullish unfolding.

Thanks for that - beginning to look pretty as a picture. I am trying to convince my wife that "Blue" throughout would be a nice change for Christmas - but she dosn`t get my drift. To-morrow may be interesting

Ashtead wins $20m US settlement
MonAM
Tool and equipment rental company Ashtead Group said a US court has upheld an award of damages and costs of about $20m to its unit Sunbelt Rentals Inc from Head & Engquist Equipment.

Ashtead said the North Carolina Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal by H&E against an earlier ruling in a case that dates back to 2000.

Ashtead alleges that just before Sunbelt acquired BET USA, H&E carried out a plan to develop its aerial work platform rental business by raiding over 100 staff from BET USA to open competing rental stores.

Ashtead said the $20m award has not yet been reflected in its accounts but it has expensed all Sunbelt's litigation costs.

Anyone got any thoughts regarding AHT's recent takeover?

Ashstead is doing well in America... so why the drastic fall today?

RNS good first quarter results full year to be ahead of expectations, perhaps an indicator that the US economy is on the mend.

perhaps - broker target here is 235p

Surely we know the US economy isn't in good shape . . . Obama is fighting the wolves and has very little slack to play with. US-employment figures showed it was still downbeat and their credit-rating is downgraded still.

Apart from actually being Bankrup, what is the US-good news?

Now Ashtead - I don't understand where this increasing turnover is coming from. Is it due to competitors dropping out - if so, why is AHT immune?
The possibility of a "takeover" could slew the sp, but their RNS seem to say "Turnover on the Up" - however, apart from the UK-based Olympics (soon to stop construction), what good news is there in the UK? (Oh, yes, Crossrail to move folks to the Olympic site that can't get there by public transport already).
Maybe High-speed rail - but in my experience, any LT hire it is cheaper to "buy", esp as manufacturers might do a BOGOF style deal, to shift plant/ Selling to AHT is not something they should want to do.
+ The yield is pretty poor.

StockMarketWire.com
Equipment rental group Ashtead unveils record underlying pre-tax profits of £84.4m in the six months to the end of October - up 197% on last time.

Underlying operating profits were up 75% at £109.6m and revenues rose 24% to £575.5m.

Pre-tax profits on a statutory basis increased by 271% to £82.9m and the interim dividend rises 7.5% to 1.0p per share.

Chief executive Geoff Drabble said: "We are delighted to report record first half pre-tax profits of £84m in end markets which remain well below previous peaks.

"Market share gains, the on-going structural shift to rental in the US and operational efficiency meant we delivered a very strong performance across a broad range of metrics despite end construction markets being at a cyclical low point.

"This is encouraging for both the short-term, where we expect a continuation of current trends, and the longer term where, when cyclical recovery comes, we expect to benefit significantly.

"With our robust debt structure, substantial capacity to fund fleet growth and the well-established momentum in the business we now anticipate a full year profit substantially ahead of our earlier expectations."

Ashtead , the industrial equipment hire business, will reveal its full-year results on Thursday. At its third-quarter results in March, business that hires out equipment ranging from hand tools to heavy plant, posted a record pre-tax profit of £21m. Profits swelled as tight finances pushed consumers towards renting rather than buying expensive equipment. At the time, Ashtead said it was expecting full-year profit to significantly exceed earlier expectations. Analysts are anticipating annual pre-tax profits of about £122m compared to £31m last time. Jefferies analysts retained their “buy” on Ashtead ahead of results, pointing to an increase in equipment rental in the US and a recovery in rental rates.

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