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I mentioned a few weeks back just after the Foxtons end of year trading statement about all those huge volumes being dealt in the shares but away from the main exchange and away from prying eyes more importantly !! Well, we saw some 65m shares traded the day after the trading statement and around 2.5m shares traded on the following Monday.
Half term school holidays this week so many people taking time away except for these lot :-
Foxtons Group plc (FOXT.L)
LSE - LSE Delayed price. Currency in GBp (0.01 GBP)
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58.00+0.70 (+1.22%)
At close: 13 February 04:35PM GMT
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1D5D1M6MYTD1Y5YMaxFull screen
Previous close 57.30
Open 0.00
Bid 0.00 x 0
Ask 0.00 x 0
Day's range 0.00 - 0.00
52-week range
Volume 6,950,640
Avg. volume 600,441
Market cap 174.751M
Beta (5Y monthly) 1.71
PE ratio (TTM) 19.33
EPS (TTM) 0.03
Earnings date 05 Mar 2024
Forward dividend & yield 0.01 (1.55%)
Ex-dividend date 03 Aug 2023
1y target est 59.50
Yep, nearly 7m traded before the market open this morning. We know this figure will get scrubbed once the first trade is reported from 08:00am this morning but good to see there's no let up in keeping a lid on the share price by those devious market players.
And the link :-
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/quote/FOXT.L?.tsrc=fin-srch
The company has already telegraphed around £147m turnover for 2023 with operating profits around £14m, with the rental side of the business accounting for just over £100m of that total.
With Alexander Hall and the sales side of the business to perform the best since 2014, this financial year could see the best numbers in Foxtons history as a a company.
We also know that the Foxtons management are completely f***ed off with the dire share price performance despite all the bullish and forward statements issued by the company and hence why all those share buybacks were stopped as it did nothing to the price and just ate up loads of cash !
But !
And it is a hypothetical but, what if management decide to stick a spanner in the works and really put one up the Banks and Hedge funds that are destroying the true value of the company here ?
We know Foxtons is a cash generating business and with all that money saved from the cancellation of share buybacks what if management decided on declaring a special dividend this time round ??
This will have a two-pronged attack on those keeping a lid on the price, it will encourage new buyers as the yield will improve no-end and thus attract income funds but with the end of the financial year just around the corner it will also encourage a further wave of institutional buyers and private clients as they look ahead to the next financial year with a bit more optimism.
It will also make a takeover of Foxtons a bit more difficult and a bit more expensive for those printing US Dollars like confetti !!
Just my thoughts but the next few weeks are going to be very interesting indeed !
Interesting. But what's your view on the Foxtons bottom line for last year ?
Doesn't surprise me . You have some very rare hard working agents but most are just uneducated , lazy , and certainly not hard working without the qualifications or business skills to run anything . They see a tv show and think they are capable too as its made to look all so simple for the very few. The few CEOs like ours who are business savvy and a few others too will simply eventually dominate leaving a few boutique' agents who are generally high end specialists .
Its been a while but thought I'd just take a look at the list of UK real estate companies appointing liquidators in the last quarter or so. We know that the trend is growing as the 'BIGS' get increasingly bigger in the sector and can pick off the minnows that is if they add value of any kind.
Nothing in the list that would interest Gittins & Co. but alarmingly over 100 small property businesses bit the dust in the last three months or so, expect this number to increase significantly as the government brings in tougher regulation for landlords and rogue property companies over the next few months :-
https://www.administrationlist.co.uk/search?SelectedNoticeTypeID=2&SelectedBusinessSectors=2
Well, its look like Alexander Hall are also smashing it out of the park as well as every other area under the Foxtons umbrella.
Expect much more of this as the year progresses and even more so after the March budget where the government will throw everything at the UK housing market.
Here's what Mr Gittins had to say yesterday :-
'Guy Gittins, CEO of Foxtons, commented: “Interest rates being held at 5.25% since September 2023 has helped to both steady and stimulate the UK property market, with buyers reacting positively to a greater degree of economic stability and a reduction in mortgage rates. Since the start of the year, weekly mortgage referrals to our mortgage broker, Alexander Hall, have been higher than any weekly level seen throughout 2023.
“This has led to an improvement in mortgage approval numbers in recent months as buyers have acted with urgency to secure these lower rates while they last, while also taking advantage of their improved position in the market with respect to their purchasing power.
“In turn, this has caused mortgage approved house prices to increase and today’s figures from Halifax provide further evidence of this growing market momentum.
“However, it’s important to note that interest rates remain at 5.25% and there is no guarantee of when this will change.
“In the meantime, those looking to purchase with the help of a mortgage are best advised to do so with the support of an experienced mortgage broker to ensure they secure the best available rates and avoid overpaying on their monthly repayments.” '
And the article in full :-
https://propertyindustryeye.com/property-industry-reacts-to-latest-rise-in-uk-house-prices/
Trend is strong and one of those I enjoy following and staying in.
Holding and not selling this one . Steady going that is the way I like it ,
UK estate agents see house sales and demand rise for first time since 2022
https://www.ft.com/content/149c0d5e-2e53-47a4-b0b9-67d78b43083a?segmentId=bf7fa2fd-67ee-cdfa-8261-b2a3edbdf916
I mentioned early last year that we would see a rapid consolidation in the sector and how lettings would become the main driver of an estate agents business and without a large book of lettings many would crumble leaving just a handful of the big players left in the market picking up anything of value.
Well here's a well written article posted this morning :-
https://propertyindustryeye.com/how-will-independent-agents-survive-if-the-sector-is-dominated-by-mega-businesses/
BoE keeps Bank Rate at 5.25%
Rate-setters split three ways in vote
Two MPC members backed a rate hike, one wanted a cut
Bailey says inflation moving in "right direction"
Investors continue to expect four rate cuts this year
In Summary that is it , 5yrs moved down a bit more today , so with rentals doing the heavy lifting last year and maintaining this year too Sales may surprise to the upside this year and I get a feeling they will , rates are coming down after all , 3.721% the 5y a moment ago
Anyone wanting to give me 1.20 for mine can have them....
Will take a look at the latest offerings from the banks but GB 5years down quite a bit today 3.77% as I type .
Should be a good time for those wanting to buy a home in London , money is turning very cheap again
What a load of old c**p !!!
Yes, there was a lot of talk late last year about a price tag of £1.20 -£1.25p a share for Foxtons but that boat has well and truly sailed off into the distance never to return.
Foxtons are now in its best shape financially and performance wise since it came to the market back in 2013 and has only recently started to shrug off its image of the estate agent cowboys and mini boy racers club as it secures it position as the No.1 Estate agency in London and in the UK.
These Private Equity charlatans are always out looking to snap up companies for next to nothing and have missed a trick here, last year yes they may have bought Foxtons on the cheap and loaded the company up with huge amounts of debt just like BGC did in 2007 but not now.
There may be a couple of disgruntled shareholders out there but even the Foxtons management know that the share price is severely undervaluing the company but who is in control of the share price, yes banks and hedge funds and mainly the American ones at that and not the Foxtons management !
What people don't realise is that American Banks and hedge funds can trade world markets RISK FREE, yes RISK FREE courtesy of being back by the FED and its 24hr a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year USD printing press.
If they want Dollars they make one phone call to the FED.
Its that simple with no risks attached !
Do the rest of the shareholders here want to see Foxtons being loaded up with another some £450m of debt again, I very much doubt it and I don't think the management would be too keen either !
Complete non-story just like our hedge fund man before Christmas who claimed to have a 4% holding in the company.
Geez, where do they find these people...........
They wanted 120 I think it was last year , wrote in a letter etc etc .
With things having improved since and on track to deliver their goals 120 now would probably be disappointing to them .
From a pure technical point of view Foxtons has moved up fast last 3 months and the best thing we can see is a slow and steady up trend . Anything crazy will push Foxtons to far , I prefer 1 or 2 p up a week sort of scenario and that to avoid strong pull backs . We'll get there but its a 14 months to 18months and lowering UK rates scenario . In my view , Still its a great if not super return if it turns out to be correct
Sounds to me like the big shareholders have their mind made up.
Look at 2 and 5 year rates today and on they are on their 3rd day down , resuming the recent downtrend . All good news for those reducing the cost of their mortgages or getting a new one . Rates down is all good news to Foxtons for their sales team. Slowly but steady up here.
I'd be very happy with tha bull case scenario of 127 , (base case 62)
I still think that give it 12 months and we'll be moving towards that . Its only a matter of time as Foxtons is steadily growing and steadily doing all the right things .Let it continue Who knows what a 3 year outlook would be ?
14 million on acquisitions-is this in the top line results-are we comparing like with like on revenue growth.For m that is the big Q .............as anyone can grow MS by buying it
Interesting research from Edison published today, which I understand is paid for by Foxtons.
https://www.edisongroup.com/research/firm-evidence-of-restructuring-success/33165/?j=152500&sfmc_sub=20657603&l=716_HTML&u=4543278&mid=536001663&jb=1
I mentioned the daily volume in Foxtons shares yesterday being the biggest in over a year at just over 10M unofficially, well remember my post about all those large volumes in the stock conducted away from the main exchanges and prying eyes, here's the unofficial count this morning so far on the Yahoo Finance website :-
Foxtons Group plc (FOXT.L)
LSE - LSE Delayed price. Currency in GBp (0.01 GBP)
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52.70+0.10 (+0.19%)
At close: 25 January 05:15PM GMT
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1D5D1M6MYTD1Y5YMaxFull screen
Previous close 52.60
Open 0.00
Bid 0.00 x 0
Ask 0.00 x 0
Day's range 0.00 - 0.00
52-week range
Volume 56,400,000
Avg. volume 580,597
Market cap 158.782M
Beta (5Y monthly) 1.66
PE ratio (TTM) 17.57
EPS (TTM) 0.03
Earnings date 05 Mar 2024
Forward dividend & yield 0.01 (1.71%)
Ex-dividend date 03 Aug 2023
1y target est N/A
YES, that's 56,400,000 !!!!! The biggest ever in Foxtons shares, if you don't believe me take a look for yourselves before 08:00am when it will be updated to reflect just the U/T of this morning, one way or another we're in for another cracking day !!!!
The link :-
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/quote/FOXT.L?p=FOXT.L&.tsrc=fin-srch
Expectations are high and should be vis a vis TTM PE ratio
A drop in rates will see Sales booming too not just rentals. Unless it gets taken over nobody here will get rich over night but with the usual ups and downs I sense the trend here will be up over the next 12months . Especially as we see today 2 and 5ys once again losing steam on the upside and sense that gentle moves down ( not quick drops ) will be the game for 2024 with some pauses and some months even some rises in rates but over all i sense we will be seeing lower mortgages this year
Gentle rise and steady with no need for the share to have crazy strong days only to retrace , let it head up slowly and steadily
Wowza, some lumpy trades reported after hours !!
What a day that was for Foxtons, we saw the biggest volume in Foxtons shares for over a year, the Yahoo Finance website report over 10m shares traded.
Hopefully after today we'll finally get a lot more institutional interest now and which will make a takeover of the company increasingly difficult whilst the share price is languishing at ridiculous lows.
Well played all !!
#Long & Strong
By my dodgy maths it's currently trading about 16x TTM PE. If they get the profit up to 25m in the next couple of years then at the same PE this should trade at around 120p. I'd like to see more clarity on when the mid term actually is.
To 69 . Remember that today's results would imply that profits were 19% above their very own forecast for 2023
Looking good I say that 76p level highs of 2021 are not that far off I say from their forecast