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Another broker raises sp target 15/06/26 - Exane BNP raises Halma to 'outperform' - price target 4550p

Citigroup raises Halma to 'buy' - price target 4600 pence

Revenue + 8.5%, Actual PBT up 111%,

Dividend up 2%.

A year of record profits delivered in a weaker economy.

Positive start to year, with second half weighting to further enhance revenue and profits

Exxon's just said oil inventories will hit "really, really low levels" in 2–3 weeks.

Physical Brent will spike to $150–$160/barrel📈

Neil Chapman, ExxonMobil's Senior Vice President:

"We're approaching unheard of inventory levels. Really, really low levels. Once you get to that point, you'll see price shoot up."

Target: $150–$160/barrel physical Brent.

Current futures Brent price: $94/barrel.

The gap between those 2 numbers is the market still pricing a US-Iran deal🕊️

The supply destruction behind the warning:

→ Iran's Hormuz closure has cost the market more than 1 billion barrels the largest oil supply disruption in history per the IEA

→ IEA members released a record 400 million barrels of strategic reserves in March to cushion the blow

📉Inventories are being depleted at a record pace

→ Stockpiles have absorbed the shock so far but Chapman's message is simple: that can't last

Oil industry executives have been warning for many months that futures markets are not reflecting the true scale of this disruption.

https://x.com/jackprandelli/status/2060127459094188454

Just one question, since we are all in on the AI trade, how we going to get there without with massive amounts of oil, critical minerals, industial metals, nuclear power, uranium, etc.

Here is just a simple mind blower: what do you need to build the actual physical structure of a data center? Cement. What do you need to reinforce cement, yup crude oil derivatives.

https://x.com/chigrl/status/2060116325763313665

Goldman Sachs raises Shell price target to 47 - 'buy'

Oddo BHF raises Shell to 'outperform' (neutral) - price target 44

Shell CEO says energy shortages may last into next year.

"We are talking about roughly 900 million barrels that haven’t been produced in the last couple of months and that’s been replaced essentially by stock drawdown," Sawan said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "We’re now starting to reach some relatively low levels....

Shell CEO Wael Sawan: "The journey back [from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz" will be a long one."

🤪😳🤪

Oil/gas prices very likely to move higher over coming months as reserves require filling, winter storage supplies urgently need to be filled and there is a global shortage expected for the rest 2026 and the SOH is still closed ...

Financial Times...Global Oil reserves plunge....

https://x.com/surprised_trade/status/2051948059748086154

In little over four years, Shell has bought back about a quarter of its shares, notching up seventeen consecutive quarters of $3 billion-plus purchases. The policy was a core tenet of the “ten-quarter sprint” to restore the group’s valuation outlined by Sawan when he took charge of the oil and gas multinational at the start of 2023. ............

The Canadian shale producer is Shell’s largest acquisition in more than a decade, adding 370,000 barrels of oil and gas a day to its output and expanding its reserves by about 2 million barrels a day.

Sawan told The Times: “Stepping into this job … my conviction was we needed to be able to really get very clear on our strategic direction and to really earn the right to grow.” He added, however, that a target to return between 40 and 50 per cent of cash from its operations through dividends and buybacks “through the cycle” was “sacrosanct”.

The ARC Resources deal marks a step up in Shell’s efforts to solidify its place as one of the world’s largest producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the largest trader of the fuel. It is aiming to grow its volume of LNG sales by between 4 and 5 per cent a year through to the end of the decade.

First-quarter results on Thursday are expected to show a 14 per cent rise in adjusted profits as traders cash in on energy market volatility fuelled by the war in the Middle East. However, full-year adjusted profits are expected to hit $29.1 billion, up 57 per cent on last year and the highest since 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

https://www.thetimes.com/business/energy/article/shell-ten-quarter-sprint-hq5qjxjx3

I'll share SHEL's slides from the ARX.TO acquisition.

Arc resources was all levels of high quality.

2. "Combination establishes Canada as a low cost heartland for @Shell''

The Canadian #Montney (BC for #NatGas / #LNG) is not only long life, but ultra low cost & $ARX.TO resource filled with Tier 1 inventory.

https://x.com/BubleQe/status/2048840601018466335

Added to ...#ITH @ 234p...a 10% drop from Monday and oil flows will take many months to stabilise, physical/spot prices will remain and are much higher than current futures prices and demand will outstrip supply for 2026

https://x.com/surprised_trade/status/2045151158298198022

Strait "opens" today. what does it mean???

🛢️global oil inventories will still go to record lows

🛢️we will still lose over 1bn barrels of production

🛢️refined product shortages/outages will persist for several quarters

🛢️spr restocking will = ~0.3mm bbl/d of new demand for the next 4 years (33% boost per year)

expect a higher floor price with an embedded political risk premium. the market may think the crisis is over...it's not.

The U.S. naval blockade will also remain in place on Iranian oil vessels etc..

https://x.com/Amena__Bakr/status/2045136358008873300

The U.S. naval blockade will remain in place on Iranian vessels.

https://x.com/Amena__Bakr/status/2045136358008873300

strait "opens" today. what does it mean???

🛢️global oil inventories will still go to record lows

🛢️we will still lose over 1bn barrels of production

🛢️refined product shortages/outages will persist for several quarters

🛢️spr restocking will = ~0.3mm bbl/d of new demand for the next 4 years (33% boost per year)

expect a higher floor price with an embedded political risk premium. the market may think the crisis is over...it's not.

https://x.com/eri****tall/status/2044411729564598391

The shares have performed strongly and, while any resolution to the current Middle East situation could see some near-term price weakness, medium term we still believe the shares are attractive, and maintain our Buy recommendation. target price raised to 320p

Rachel Reeves has backed drilling in the North Sea in a move set to fuel tensions with Ed Miliband.

The Chancellor said she would be “very happy” to see drilling at two proposed new oil fields because of the positive impact on “jobs and tax revenue”.

Mr Miliband, who has previously ruled out new exploration, is poised to decide on licences for the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/01/iran-war-oil-price-trump-ftse-100-markets-inflation-rates/

FY26 Update

PayPoint Plc (“PayPoint” or the “Group”) today issues an unaudited trading update for the financial year ended 31 March 2026.

The Group anticipates it will deliver a record financial performance for FY26.

Consistent with the extended and increased buyback programme announced on 1 July 2025, as of market close on 25 March 2026, a total of 3,957,613 shares have been purchased at a total value of £23.8 million. The Group remains on course to reduce its issued share capital by circa 30% in the three years to FY28 while continuing to grow the ordinary dividend, with share capital already reduced by circa15% in the current year.

Business Reorganisation

The Board also today announces that it has taken the decision to simplify the business through a reorganisation into four business units: Network Services, Digital Payments and Open Banking, Love2shop and Merchant Services. This will result in a better integrated and more transparent business with a simpler investment case.

This reorganisation will establish four business units of scale, with clearly defined operating structures, a greater focus on growth opportunities with a more accountable operating culture...

The four business units will be:

1. Network Services (estimated FY26 net revenue: £91.3 million)

2. Digital Payments and Open Banking (estimated FY26 net revenue: £13.4 million)

3. Love2shop (estimated FY26 net revenue: £53.2 million)

4. Merchant Services (estimated FY26 net revenue: £31.5 million)

FY27 Outlook

The business reorganisation will drive significant change in the Group during FY27 and beyond. The actions we are taking to simplify and optimise the business structure will better position PayPoint to prioritise resources and focus towards areas which will deliver growth for the long term despite structural change in a number of our key markets and a slower than expected pace in the roll out of some of our key growth initiatives. The Board believes these actions are fundamental to the next steps in the development of the PayPoint business and will establish a stronger foundation for future growth.

Entering into the new financial year, in a challenging trading environment, our business reorganisation will ensure there are a number of important changes in priority and emphasis across the business. At a headline level, the focus across each of our four business units and their respective channels to market is to harness our capabilities to deliver a higher quality of earnings and greater adoption of our products and services.

In terms of trading, our outlook for the year ahead is balanced between the continued growth across the Group, further cost efficiency initiatives and recent trends in certain of our business units, in particular our parcels business. Overall, this indicates the business is likely to exceed the underlying profits delivered in FY26 and within the range of market expectations.

Jefferies upgraded Mony Group to 'buy' from 'hold' on Friday and lifted the price target to 230p from 205p, citing an attractive entry point and saying it was best placed to overcome sector-wide headwinds, i.e. AI fears and competition.

The bank said AI-driven fears that have de-rated Mony are misplaced, for two reasons: data and regulatory barriers.

"The need to maintain tight control over sensitive consumer information and to integrate with many stakeholders means that Large Language Models (LLMs) should come to view price comparison websites (PCWs) as mission-critical partners," it said.

"Indeed, on 20 Feb, Mony launched its app on ChatGPT, which should ease disintermediation fears."

Jefferies also said its analysis suggests that Mony's SuperSaveClub (SSC) rewards program can drive better customer retention, cross-selling across verticals, and medium-term margin growth.

"This is important because the PCW sector has long relied on aggressive advertising spending to maintain consumer awareness and revenue share," it said. "SSC breaks that trade-off. We also see greater potential for SSC to improve its utility beyond a rewards program into an essential household tool."

At the current share price and amid depressed expectations, Jefferies believes the risk-reward is now skewed to the upside.

"Indeed, we believe growth tailwinds in 2026 should end the two-year de-rating," it said. "The decade-high circa 7% dividend yield at a 9x FY26 PE, bolsters the appeal of the entry point. Even our worst-case stress test keeps the yield above 5-6%, still at the high end of its historical range."