Latest Share Chat

Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

Marks & Spencer Information

Buy MKS Shares
Add MKS to Watchlist
Add MKS to Alert

Share Price Information for Marks & Spencer (MKS)

Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes

Get Live Data

Share Price: 254.60

Bid: 255.50

Ask: 255.70

Change: 0.10 (0.04%)

Spread: 0.20 (0.078%)

Open: 255.30

High: 257.30

Low: 253.00

Prev. Close: 254.50

Last checked at -

Broker snap: M&S still a 'buy' despite tough Q2, says Nomura

Wed, 09th Oct 2013 10:45

Nomura has retained its 'buy' rating for High Street group Marks & Spencer (M&S), saying that while the hot summer weather and promotions are likely to have been unhelpful in the second quarter, there is little to suggest it is an underlying problem.Given tough comparatives with last September (which saw 9% growth), Nomura is looking for a flat September this year, leading to a 0.4% decline in like-for-like (LFL) sales in the second quarter (three months to September 29th).The broker said that following the first-quarter update in July, M&S was already behind its above-consensus full-year forecasts. "Since then, we expect the early summer sale in June, prior to the heat wave, will have been unhelpful in driving 2Q full-price sales. The industry in general has struggled against tough promotional comparatives and warm temperatures," said analyst Fraser Ramzan.He said that he has reduced his full-year profit before tax forecast by £25m, after cutting LFL growth and margin estimates for General Merchandise (GM), offset slightly by an increase to the expected gross margin growth for food retail.Nevertheless, the new profit before tax estimate of £677m still remains above consensus forecasts before recent downgrades. Ramzan said that the 12% decline in profits in the first half should be countered with a 18% improvement in the second half."We are bullish on UK retail, with M&S LFLs highly correlated to consumer confidence, which has been rising sharply in recent months. We also believe M&S is substantially under-earning in margin terms with GM gross margins 51% versus 57-60% for peers. "The current strategy to improve product availability and reduce markdown issues in our opinion will significantly narrow this gap, and we believe the division has a credible management team in place to execute on the strategy."Nomura maintained its 540p target price. The stock was up 0.22% at 464.8p on Wednesday morning.BC

More News

Today 17:06

FTSE 100 boosted by strong earnings from Shell, StanChart

StanChart jumps after posting a 5.5% rise in pretax profit

Today 08:00

Ocado, Lidl and M&S are UK's fastest growing grocers, says NIQ

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - Online supermarket Ocado , discounter Lidl and upmarket food seller Marks & Spencer were Britain's fastest growing grocers over the last quarter, industry data showed on Thursday.

29 Apr 2024 17:13

Ocado pay policy opposed by 19% of votes cast at annual meeting

LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - Some 19% of votes cast at Ocado's annual shareholder meeting on Monday opposed the online grocer and technology group's proposed new pay policy that could see boss Tim Steiner pick up a bonus share award of up to 15 million pounds ($19 million).

23 Apr 2024 12:00

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE 100 pushes to new high; AB Foods surges

(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 hit another intraday high on Tuesday, driven by data providing some "fresh optimism" about the UK economy.

23 Apr 2024 08:54

LONDON MARKET OPEN: AB Foods profit soars boosting interim dividend

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London continued to build on Monday's gains early on Tuesday, thanks to sentiment boosted by the prospect of interest rate cuts.

23 Apr 2024 08:36

TOP NEWS: Grocery inflation eases again in April despite early Easter

(Alliance News) - Grocery price inflation eased further in April, aided by a significant increase in promotional spending, new data showed on Tuesday.

22 Apr 2024 17:21

London shares climb over 1%, M&A action lifts midcap stocks

FTSE 100 up 1.6%, FTSE 250 adds 1.1%

22 Apr 2024 16:58

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: New record close for FTSE 100 as war fears ease

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 surged on Monday, with blue-chip equities supported by an easing of geopolitical worry, and hope that the Bank of England is getting a handle on UK inflation.

22 Apr 2024 14:54

London close: Stocks jump on weaker sterling, easing geopolitics

(Sharecast News) - London's financial markets closed in the green on Monday, with the top-flight index remaining near record highs by the close.

22 Apr 2024 11:33

Jefferies upgrades M&S, Next and Sainsbury's to 'buy'

(Sharecast News) - Jefferies upgraded its stance on a host of UK retail stocks on Monday.

22 Apr 2024 09:04

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Jefferies raises B&M to 'hold'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Monday morning:

22 Apr 2024 08:49

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Hipgnosis jumps on Blackstone rival offer

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Monday, as investors shook off nerves ahead of a key US inflation reading later this week.

19 Apr 2024 16:56

London close: Stocks mixed as investors watch Middle East newsflow

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets closed in a mixed state on Friday as traders kept a close watch on escalating tensions in the Middle East.

17 Apr 2024 08:53

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks mixed as UK data douses BoE cut hope

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 underperforming European peers, with a hotter than expected UK inflation reading lifting the pound.

16 Apr 2024 08:38

UK discounter B&M expects full-year profit at top end of guidance

2023/24 revenue up 10.1% to 5.5 bln stg

Latest Share Chat

Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

Share Price Information for Marks & Spencer (MKS)

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

Broker snap: M&S still a 'buy' despite tough Q2, says Nomura

Login to your account

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account