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Sold at 906 on 21 April. Come back another time when things in economy looking better, Ukraine and cladding issue resolved.
I have experienced rises of 10 and 20% recently there so you consider other places or alternatives. Inflation is rampant. After new year I noticed many items had 5p rises or more.
Bought in at £9. Dividend cover of just over 2 much better than Persimmon at 1. See they signed the UK government's Building Safety Pledge.
JP MORGAN CUTS RATING ON BARCLAYS
(Sharecast News) - The positive investment case for British banks is starting to weaken, JP Morgan said on Tuesday, as it reiterated Lloyds Banking Group as its top pick but cut its rating on Barclays.
The US bank said that the "shift in the UK economic outlook", including higher inflation and negative GDP revisions, was "starting to cloud the positive case for the banks, which rests on higher rates in our view".
It continued: "[We] conclude that the current rate hike cycle is more positive for net interest income (NII) relative to market expectations and versus the 2017 cycle based on our proprietary dataset that goes back over five years."
It reiterated that Lloyds, already its top pick, was best positioned, followed by NatWest Group, "where we see scope for continued tailwinds from higher rates to flow back to shareholders".
JP Morgan also upgraded Virgin Money UK to 'neutral' from 'underweight', "with upside to net interest margin and a buyback offsetting the ongoing cost negatives".
It cut its rating on Barclays to 'neutral' from 'overweight', however, "as we no longer see a catalyst for unlocking the valuation discount for the corporate and investment banking, alongside potential for higher costs (legal) and a more challenging non-NII outlook".
JPM added: "Some of the NII drivers, however, will likely start to turn in the second half of 2022 and our earnings per share forecasts are now below consensus across the board, due to the higher cost of risk which is not reflected in consensus."
As at 1130 BST, shares in Barclays were down 4% at 154.4p. Lloyds and NatWest were both ahead 1%, at 49.15p and 221.8p respectively. Virgin Money UK was 1% stronger at 180.05p.
Yep, must be most popular date for companies.
Hargreaves Landsdown view on results - A large part of why the yield's so high, is the reduction in Direct Line's share price.
It's true that on the face of it, the group's profits are now covering the dividend - an area we were concerned about previously. But only just. And there are some challenges remaining meaning we can't rule out changes to shareholder returns.
Personal insurance remains highly competitive, and with rivals offering pretty generic products, few companies can maintain any semblance of pricing power. That has tended to have negative consequences for combined operating ratios (the percentage of premiums that are paid out as claims or expenses) as companies are forced to cut prices to attract customers. Price comparison websites have only exacerbated the problem.
New rules also mean insurers will no longer be allowed to automatically hike home and car renewal quotes. This is a headwind felt by the whole industry. However, we must admit that amongst this unhelpful development, Direct Line's ability to keep its medium-term targets intact is no mean feat.
We're also encouraged by Direct Line's strong retention rates in key areas, made more difficult by changes to automatic renewals. The money invested in launching a new integrated Motor platform should also help with this in the long run, as well as boosting efficiency (more on that later).
One of Direct Line's key advantage is its brand. This has helped it price more aggressively than competitors and also secure a relatively high proportion of direct sales (without selling though price comparison sites). The second is scale, because the new, leaner cost base can be spread across more policies. New technology infrastructure helps the group compete on price comparison sites, and is improving underwriting accuracy.
Insurers must set aside a portion of the premiums they receive to meet future claims, called reserves. But, if claims turn out to be lower than expected or the rules around how much must be set aside change, the excess can be released as profit. In recent years profits have been flattered by the release of prior years' reserves. That's not a long-term source of growth, so we're also heartened to see reserve releases becoming a less significant part of total profit.
CEO Penny James has instead focused on cutting costs, capitalising on recent investments in technology and increasing the contribution of underwriting.
Overall, we think Direct Line's targets are ambitious but not unachievable - although a lot's riding on the new technology investments living up to their billing. Direct Line has a strong offering in a difficult market. The challenges are reflected in a below-average price to earnings ratio, which could rerate should we see continued accelerated momentum. As ever, all share prices can go down as well as up.
Some of the world's most powerful hedge funds have placed bets against British businesses for the first time in years, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Billionaire speculators who have launched bids to cash in on the stock market turmoil and looming recession in the UK.
They stand to make huge profits if shares in the companies they have targeted collapse after using the controversial trading tactic called short-selling. This is where hedge funds borrow shares, sell them, and then try to buy them back at a lower price and pocket the difference when they return the shares to the original owner.
US-based Farallon Capital has taken out a £20million short position out against discount retailer B&M Stores.
The bet against FTSE 250-listed B&M Stores is the first time Farallon – which is based in San Francisco and named after islands near the city – has bet against a British business since April 2018, according to data provider ShortTracker.