triceratops
15 Feb 2019
Still great value Some of the valuations being paid for Infrastructure assets seem to me to be getting bubbly and are discounting some of the associated risks. However I think a case can still be made for JLG being underpriced and I hope we’ll see a bit more over the coming months.
alpinon
21 Apr 2018
Long term Hold This is the most promising stock in my portfolio.I would be surprised if the share price is not doubled within a year or so with the prospects of ample contract possibilities in particularly in the USA.A solid promising company with healthy balance sheet
Triggers broom
26 Mar 2018
Rights Issue 97% take up Mildly surprised this wasn't fully subscribed as it looks a good deal and I've taken up my full rights.The timing of this RI is curious as I'd imagine there were some of the 3% who couldn't take up the rights as they'd maxed the ISA allowance. Still, a nice 3% top up at discount for the underwriters. 
pharmaspecialist
12 Jan 2018
Re: 2018 Special divi 4-8p? Yes Triggers broom, I think you could call this share a decent yielder. I think it is also a share which many investors do not know about. My opinion is that it has better prospects than the better known infrastructure funds because it has more flexibility in its business model and can capture more value from infrastructure projects. I also like the arrangment with its captive infrastructure funds although I am sure management would not like me using that term. It also has relatively little exposure to UK PFI projects and there appear to be huge opportunities for international growth. I am also a long term investor in one of Brookfield's Canada based infrastructure funds which has increased in price by 400% over the past 10 years as well as paying a hefty dividend and I think John Laing will continue to benefit from the same factors as have helped this fund. On the downside, the absence of much exposure to UK PFI's will not necessarily dissuade a future Labour party from pursuing John Laing for a windfall tax, but perhaps Laing could transfer its base overseas if this happens as it is becoming inceasingly US centred.
Triggers broom
12 Dec 2017
2018 Special divi 4-8p? Following the latest realisation update a quick calculation (5-10% of £299M) indicates a special divi in the region of 4 to 8 pence. Add in the final divi and this is becoming a decent yielder.
nk1999
23 Sep 2017
HSBC view "John Laing's growing pool of public-private partnerships and renewable energy investment opportunities should allow the company to grow 12% a year through to 2019, said HSBC as it restarted coverage of the stock with a 'buy' recommendation.HSBC said Laing's investments opportunities are in low risk territories in Europe, North America and Australasia, "where there is political support for PPP and a rising weight of secondary investment funds that exceeds the flow of finished projects".Opportunities in these territories are expected to structurally rise in both PPP and renewables, which the group can access through the network of offices, most recently expanded in the US."We see PPP investment as the most expedient means of realising infrastructure demand," while HSBC's climate change strategist, Ashim Paun, has set out expectations for the renewable energy provision to increase by multiples of up to 3.3 times current levels by 2030 in the group's key markets.Analyst set a 340p share price target that projects a rise to a 20% premium to net asset value to reflect the growth prospects in both investment pools and the group's advantageous position and track record for realising surpluses."
triceratops
20 Jun 2017
Still great value This share has done fantastically well since the float but I think it could go a fair bit higher.My thinking is as follows;It's trading at around 10% over book value. To put this in context most of the Renewable/PFI investments trusts such as HICL, Bluefield Solar, and JLIF (the listed PFI vehicle for John Laings operational PFI assets) all trade at this kind of premium. But JLG is NOT an investment Trust it encompasses the brand of John Laing and all the pipeline business it is developing on top of the PFI assets it classifies as investments on the balance sheet. In my view the current share price just about accounts for the PFI projects only and gives very little value to the business of John Laing. From their 2016 results they mention they have a biddable pipeline of £1,859m of which historically they win 30% i.e around £550m. JLG would aim to make an IRR of around 12% (sticking finger in the air as it would be higher for the initial phase then lower when operational) on these projects giving a terminal value of around £400m to the development business. Current market Cap is £1,100m add on around £400m for the development business and a fair price for these shares is around 400p...The more I look at this company the more I like it!Tops
cudntpikmynose
20 Apr 2017
Ex Divi Down a bit due to Divi date
nk1999
25 Mar 2017
Peel Hunt From Citywire (Thursday):"Peel Hunt: John Laing offers ‘outstanding value’Infrastructure developer John Laing Group (JLG) is offering ‘outstanding value’, according to Peel Hunt. Analyst Andrew Shepherd-Barron retained his ‘buy’ recommendation and increased the target price from 334p to 384p after recent results and fund raising ‘show a sector in demand’. The shares were trading flat at 274p at the time of writing. ‘We see John Laing as offering outstanding value and upgrade our target price to 384p with full fair value another 25% above that,’ he said. He said that 2017 should prove ‘even better’ than last year in terms of ‘value creation’ that will push the share price up further. Shepherd-Barron said it was ‘anomalous’ that the John Laing Infrastructure and Environmental Assets investment trusts did do not have the same business pipeline but traded at a 12% premium to net asset value, while John Laing Group trades at a discount. "
nk1999
28 Aug 2016
IC View "John Laing's gilt-edged valuation boost and state spending hopesJohn Laing's gilt-edged valuation boost and state spending hopesMost sentiment-based business surveys in the immediate wake of the EU referendum can be taken with a pinch of salt, but others warrant closer inspection. Figures from Barbour ABI, a construction consultancy that supplies industry data for the Office for National Statistics, showed a 20 per cent fall-away in the value of infrastructure construction contracts in July - all the more troubling when you consider that contract activity for the general industrial and commercial office construction segments raced ahead during the month.Industry pundits now expect Theresa May's government to announce new spending plans in the autumn. That's good news for infrastructure specialists like John Laing Group (JLG), though the group's latest set of results since its re-admission as a publicly traded entity suggest it has been faring pretty well anyway. An 8.3 per cent increase in net asset vaue since the year-end was ahead of market expectations, driven in part by favourable currency translations and a 40 basis point reduction in the benchmark discount rate to 9.1 per cent. The portfolio valuation increased 12 per cent from the year-end to £945m (split equally between primary and secondary investments), on a fair value uplift of £128m. While the fall-away in gilt yields should prove beneficial to valuations through lower benchmark rates, the group's pension deficit - though stable at the half-year mark on an accounting basis - could eventually swell.You would be hard pressed to identify any Brexit-linked effect on the project pipeline, up 19 per cent to £1.78bn, reflecting a commensurate step-up in potential public private partnerships. Midway through August 2016, the group had either been shortlisted, or achieved preferred bidder status, on seven key new projects. Not only that, but John Laing has just acquired a 30 per cent stake in the Nordergründe offshore wind farm in the German North Sea - its first venture in that segment of the energy market.HSBC gives respective book value and earnings of 290p and 55.7p a share for the December year-end, against 242p and 26.9p a year earlier. JOHN LAING (JLG)ORD PRICE: 241p MARKET VALUE: £882m TOUCH: 237p-241p 12-MONTH HIGH: 242p LOW: 184p DIVIDEND YIELD: † 3.0% PE RATIO: 5 NET ASSET VALUE: 263p* NET DEBT: 10% Half-year to 30 JunTurnover (£m)Pre-tax profit (£m)Earnings per share (p)Dividend per share (p)2015* 64.4 32.6 9.3 1.60 2016 141 108 29.1 1.85 % change +118 +232 +213 +16 Ex-div: 29 SepPayment: 28 Oct*Pro-forma figures as company listed in January 2015. †Includes a special dividend of 2.1p per share paid in May IC VIEW:The need to shore up the UK's creaking infrastructure was seen by many as a national priority prior to June's vote, but the practical rationale has now been interlaced with the perceived need to apply the jumper leads to the economy. This certainly augurs well for John Laing, whose shares are now changing hands at just four times forecast earnings: that's too cheap to ignore. Buy. "
cudntpikmynose
25 Aug 2016
Re: Results Up on a red day can't be bad. Still low pe and divi well covered, directors were buying, couple of broker buy recs so I will hold on a bit longer for a bit more
triceratops
25 Aug 2016
Re: Results Nice results today, climbing NAV and increased dividend.The Market really seems to like it.Onwards and upwards!
nk1999
24 Mar 2016
Barclays view From Citywire (on 23/03):"John Laing discount unwarrantedInfrastructure developer John Laing (JLG) has had a strong 2015 and the 2016 pipeline is looking equally positive. Barclays analyst Daniel Garrod reiterated his ‘overweight’ recommendation and increased the target price from 240p to 270p. The shares dipped 2p to 227.3p yesterday.‘John Laing performed well in 2015, reporting December net asset value of £890 million…up 15% year-on-year,’ he said. ‘Portfolio valuation was up 22% year-on-year to £841 million, driven by fair value movements of £132 million. The largest components of this were the unwinding of project discount rates and value enhancements. Management project a confident outlook for 2016 stating that the year has started well with an increase in investment pipeline to £1.5 billion.‘We raised our projected 2016 estimated net asset value by 4% to 267p and highlight that the continuing discount to net asset value appears unwarranted.’ "
jonwig1
10 Mar 2016
Re: Results The discount is because these are early/development stage projects with low income production. Despite clauses with developers and owners, there's still risk of project failure. (It almost happened with the Manchester waste projects.)Once the projects mature and start producing income, the risk has largely vanished, and they are sold to JLIF, JLEN, etc. (JLG then gets asset management fees!)
stout-hart
09 Mar 2016
Results Great set of results, but one question: why is JLG trading at a 10% discount to asset value when other infrastructure ITs are trading at premiums, some quite high?My conclusion is, this is a great buying opportunity as the SP must surely start to close that gap as the wider market wakes up to the stability and longevity of earnings that JLG represents. 75% of its revenue is from projects with a life of over 20 years. Lack of volatility is an even bigger advantage in these turbulent days before the referendum (vote for Brexit!!).
