The next focusIR Investor Webinar takes places on 14th May with guest speakers from Blue Whale Growth Fund, Taseko Mines, Kavango Resources and CQS Natural Resources fund. Please register here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksLAD.L Share News (LAD)

  • There is currently no data for LAD

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

Credit Suisse upgrades bookies William Hill and Ladbrokes

Tue, 12th Jan 2016 12:25

(ShareCast News) - Credit Suisse upgraded William Hill to 'outperform' from 'neutral' and lifted the price target to 500p from 420p, saying the cash return story was as attractive as M&AThe bank said it disagrees that William Hill is being left behind by ongoing industry consolidation, and reckons it will continue to be competitive.In addition, it said the group is now in a position to re-leverage the balance sheet and return cash to shareholders.CS thinks William Hill could return 39% of its market capitalisation to shareholders over the next three years, with only 2.5x leverage.It added that William Hill is in a strong position heading into this year, with the wider industry benefiting from the European Championships and weak comparatives."Furthermore, while peers are focused on integration, William Hill's management can focus on taking market share. We see the potential for significant cash returns to lead to a re-rating for the stock."The bank also upgraded its stance on peer Ladbrokes, to 'neutral' from 'underperform', raising the price target to 130p from 85p, pointing to upside potential post-merger from a digital recovery and cost synergies.Credit Suisse said the resultant company from the merger with Coral will have a better earnings mix and the bank forecasts stronger medium-term earnings growth, albeit with a little initial disruption from integration.CS sees £76m in gross synergies and net synergies of £34m."Given the likely disruption from the integration of the businesses and shop divestments, we do not forecast a meaningful improvement in earnings until 2018, but on a medium-term view, are very positive on the combined entity compared to standalone Ladbrokes."If, however, a deal does not occur, it sees significant downside potential to the stock.At 1234 GMT, William Hill shares were up 0.7% to 379.30p while Ladbrokes was up 2.6% to 122.84p.
More News
31 Oct 2016 09:39

BROKER RATINGS SUMMARY: HSBC Raises IAG To Hold From Reduce

Read more
26 Oct 2016 15:57

Ladbrokes-Coral merger wins final CMA approval with 322 shop disposals

(ShareCast News) - Ladbrokes and Coral will be able to complete their merger "in the very near future" after the competition regulator gave its final approval on Wednesday. After the Competition & Markets Authority gave its green light, the FTSE 250 bookmaker said it had approved the disposal of

Read more
21 Oct 2016 14:38

Daisy pulls sterling junk bond as investors get tough

By Robert Smith LONDON, Oct 21 (IFR) - Daisy called off an attempt to issue a sterling high-yield deal on Friday, in the latest sign of waning UK investor appetite for riskier debt in challenging sectors. The UK company threw in the towel on the debut bond after four days of marketing

Read more
18 Oct 2016 17:12

UPDATE 4-William Hill, Amaya drop short-lived gambling merger talks

* Talks abandoned less than two weeks after announcement * Sector consolidating as more gamblers go online * European rivals have already joined forces * Amaya FY revenue forecast below market expectations * Amaya shares drop 8.3 percent (Adds share move, Amaya spokesman

Read more
18 Oct 2016 13:24

RPT-UPDATE 3-William Hill, Amaya drop short-lived gambling merger talks

(Repeats for wider distribution, no changes to text) * Talks abandoned less than two weeks after announcement * Sector is consolidating as more gamblers go online * European rivals have already joined forces * Amaya FY revenue forecast below market expectations * Ama

Read more
18 Oct 2016 08:28

Ladbrokes revenue grows for fourth successive quarter

(ShareCast News) - FTSE 250 betting and gambling company Ladbrokes reported growth for a fourth successive quarter for revenue as it remains confident of delivering full year results in line with expectations. In a trading update for the third quarter ended 30 September, net revenue increased 12.1%,

Read more
18 Oct 2016 06:56

Tuesday newspaper round-up: Bonds, Shell, bookmaker levy, farm boost

(ShareCast News) - Investors dumped UK government bonds yesterday in one of the heaviest sell-offs since the Brexit vote as international demand for sterling assets declined rapidly. Overseas investors are becoming increasingly worried that inflation and a move by the Conservative government towards

Read more
17 Oct 2016 07:13

Ladbrokes and Coral announce planned sale of 359 shops

(ShareCast News) - Bookmaker Ladbrokes announced on Monday that subsidiaries of both itself and merger partner Gala Coral Group have agreed to sell a total of 359 licensed betting offices to Done Brothers Cash Betting - trading as Betfred - and StanJames Abingdon - trading as Stan James. The FTSE 25

Read more
17 Oct 2016 06:58

Monday newspaper round-up: New Brexit plans, dividends, supermarkets

(ShareCast News) - Britain would continue to pay billions of pounds into the EU budget after Brexit to maintain cherished single-market access for the City of London and other sectors under plans being discussed by Theresa May's cabinet. The prime minister's demand that Britain controls its borders

Read more
17 Oct 2016 06:20

Ladbrokes, Gala Coral to sell 359 shops ahead of merger

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - British Ladbrokes and Gala Coral said they agreed to sell 359 shops for 55.5 million pounds ($69 million) to rivals, in a deal which will reduce their footprint and pave the way for competition authorities to allow their merger to proceed. The pair were told in Ju

Read more
10 Oct 2016 07:49

BUZZ-William Hill: best day in 3 months after confirming merger talks

** William Hill rises 5.4 pct, its best day since mid-July, after confirming merger talks with Canada's Amaya ** Co says deal would create a global leader in sports betting, poker and casino ** Top riser on Stoxx 600 and most traded by average volumes - 1.5x 30-day average in the firs

Read more
7 Oct 2016 07:39

BUZZ-UK gambling companies lower after media reports of TV ad ban

** Shares in British gambling companies fall after The Times newspaper reports that the companies are due to be banned from advertising on television during the day ** William Hill down 2.9 pct, Labrokes down 2.5 pct vs. Britain's midcap index which is up 0.2 pct ** Cenkos analyst Sim

Read more
20 Sep 2016 06:57

Tuesday newspaper round-up: May in New York, Ladbrokes, building blocked

(ShareCast News) - Theresa May will canvass leading Wall Street banks over how Britain should structure its departure from the EU to reassure them that Brexit will not damage their UK business. Mrs May will meet "mostly" chief executives from the finance sector along with figures from the technology

Read more
31 Aug 2016 07:51

Gala Coral revenue up but losses widen

(ShareCast News) - Ladbrokes said on Wednesday that revenue at Gala Coral, with which it has agreed to merge, rose in the third quarter, but the bookmaker's loss widened due to exceptional costs. In the 12 weeks ended 2 July, net revenue at Gala Coral was up 10% from 2015 to £264m, while earnings be

Read more
26 Aug 2016 08:46

Ladbrokes given a boost by Berenberg upgrade

(ShareCast News) - Berenberg has raised its rating on Ladbrokes to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted its target price to 185p from 130p, saying the company is its second favourite stock in gaming after Playtech. The broker said since it initiated on Ladbrokes a number of positives have materialised with

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.