Akis1999
20 Jan 2017
Re: 5% drop... For example HL shamelessly promote PNN on the financial analysis page of UU !!! Who wants to bet that HL have (or had) their own funds invested in PNN ?
Akis1999
20 Jan 2017
Re: 5% drop... I think the analysts and bankers will not EVER upset their major clients. During Brexit they sided with Cameron and with the Remoaners and added to the doom and gloom stories because most of their clients were pro-EU.Only now, so many months later, they are revising their stories.Similarly I cannot possibly imagine that CS or other bank will print an analysis of a stock with a downgrade or upgrade without first having circulated it amongst all the important clients.And not just circulated it but consult with the large clients and get them to move in/out of large positions.Therefore by the time you read an analysts report the large clients have already had it and acted on it.Top top it up I find it impossible to believe that big news has not already been passed on to the close friends who stand to make small fortunes and also hard to believe that a pro or against analysis would somehow clash with own or client's interests.When you see an analyst downgrading a stock consistently, eg Liberum Capital and PSON, I would not mind betting their proxies have shorts on.
Baker2005
13 Jan 2017
Re: 5% drop... hmm, these guys should make up their minds. Only in November they said "09/11/2016 – Pennon Group was upgraded to “Neutral” by analysts at Credit Suisse. They now have a GBP 800.00p price target on the stock."Typical games by brokers to manipulate their book IMV
Lupo di mare
13 Jan 2017
Re: 5% drop... Here's the nitty gritty, if anybody fully comprehends it..."(ShareCast News) - Credit Suisse has downgraded environmental utility infrastructure company Pennon Group to 'underperform' from 'neutral' and lowered the price target to 680p from 800p.The broker said that the downside in energy-from-waste (EfW) is materialising faster than it anticipated and it sees risk of a potential liability associated with an unconsolidated financing joint venture.The risks the bank forecasts with EfW include local authority counterparty risk, exposure to competitive pricing which analysts predict will intensify from 2020, execution risk on construction of the Glasgow pant and financing risk with a potentially expensive new hybrid. It added that it sees no drivers of sustainable medium-term upside to pricing.The earnings per share forecast fell to 35.59p from 36.69p for 2017.The cut in EPS by 3-4% and price target is primarily due to the bank's valuation of the company's subsidiary Virador, including the Greater Manchester contract and Avonmouth EfW.It also points to the company's Peninsula MB joint venture, estimating that loss of tax credits could reduce earnings per share (EPS) by around 7 to 10% per annum going forward.On the plus side the bank values the company's second subsidiary, South West Water (SWW) at a premium to reflect outperformance among its peers but sees bond yields as the main near term driver for UK Water valuations."
Floatingboater
13 Jan 2017
Re: 5% drop... Thanks for that Lupo, i've been watching these with a view to buying for some time. If Credit Suisse says don't, i probably will. I stopped taking any notice of them when they recommended sell AHT at about 780 last year. Fortunately i held on and sold at 1400, too early, but hey ho.
idontwanttolose
13 Jan 2017
FAO Lupo Re: 5% drop... Thanks for your post I could not find why they dropped 5%!I had an automated buy set as I thought them a solid investment compared to other stocks.I am now an investor in PNN
Lupo di mare
13 Jan 2017
Re: 5% drop... Aha, just checked my mailbox - "Pennon Group was the worst mid-cap performer, down 4.2%, after Credit Suisse downgraded the water and waste company to Underperform from Neutral."Dunno what possessed them to reach that decision though.
Lupo di mare
13 Jan 2017
5% drop... What was that all about? Poor Christmas trading?
nk1999
05 Oct 2016
RBC Cap From ADVFN:"Severn Trent and United Utilities were under the cosh on Wednesday after RBC Capital Markets downgraded both stocks as it took a look at the UK water sector.The bank cut Severn Trent to 'underperform' from 'sector perform' on valuation grounds but lifted the price target to 2,300p from 2,200p. RBC said it has updated its return on regulated equity calculation and valuation approaches such that the target rises, but with -5% implied total return, it downgraded the rating."We believe SVT will continue to be one of the better-held UK water stocks by investors. Its management presents SVT's investment case strongly and largely receives a positive feedback from those who have met them."RBC downgraded United Utilities to 'underperform' from 'sector perform', also on valuation, noting 4% implied total return, but lifted the price target to 1,000 from 975p.The Canadian bank said its ratings on both stocks reflect its view that their current trading valuation implies a total return that compares unfavourably to the rest of the European utilities sector.RBC highlighted a preference for outperform-ratedPennon, which it said offers a "one-stop shop for investors seeking exposure to various long-term themes, including water/waste, safety amidst Brexit, macro recovery (relative to SVT/UU), income-play, earnings growth and UK Water M&A."RBC lifted its price target for Pennon to 950p from 925p."
Lupo di mare
19 Sep 2016
Competition? My conclusion from reading this is that OFWAT is admitting that they're unable to do their job, and are now hoping that opening water supply to more competition will do it for them.The stated benefits to customers are ludicrously small in terms of lower prices and completely unproven improvements to levels of service and "innovation" - managing your bills with an App, whooppee!Just appears to be yet another bureacratic muddle in the offing.No wonder Water UK is so relaxed about this report, or have I got it wrong?"Regulator Ofwat has proposed opening the retail water market in England to more competition.Currently, households have no choice in which water company supplies them. Ofwat says greater competition could mean innovation and lower prices.Under the proposals, firms could buy water in batches from existing providers and sell it on to households.Companies could also offer bundles of services, selling gas, electricity or broadband alongside water.In theory it could mean that banks, supermarkets or phone companies could also sell water.'Analogue service'"We are living in an age of retail revolution, but water customers are being left behind," said Ofwat chief executive Cathryn Ross."The service offers from water companies can feel behind the curve compared to the innovation customers benefit from when buying other goods. The uncomfortable truth is that, when it comes to retail offers, water companies provide an analogue service in a digital age."According to Ofwat, greater competition may only have a modest impact on bills, with an annual saving of £8.But Ms Ross told the BBC that she expected that opening up the market would lead to better service as well as lower bills."We would expect significant benefits to come through to customers in terms of better service," she said."For instance, at the moment only two of the water companies in England let their customers manage their bills using an app. That's the kind of thing we'd expect to change and see real innovation."Ms Ross said that opening up the market would only work for customers if switching was made "as hassle-free as possible".Government approvalWater UK, which represents the water companies, said in a statement: "Extending retail competition to over 20 million households could secure potential benefits for domestic customers, but would also be a major undertaking and so deserves to be given very careful consideration."We look forward to a timely decision from government which helps sustain the stability the industry needs to continue successfully meeting the needs of its customers."The government still has to approve any proposals before the market is opened up.Earlier this year, a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said millions of households in England and Wales were paying too much for their water supply because of poor oversight by Ofwat.PAC said the regulator consistently overestimated water companies' costs."
Lupo di mare
02 Sep 2016
Veolia expansion "French water and waste group Veolia plans to invest 750 million pounds in its British recycling business in the next five years, aiming to take advantage of rising landfill taxes that push municipalities and companies to recycle more.Veolia UK chief executive Estelle Brachlianoff said gradually rising landfill taxes had been a major revenue driver for Veolia in Britain, where it has annual revenue of about 2 billion pounds (2.4 billion euros), making it the company's second-largest market after France."We expect Britain will be a major growth area for Veolia in the coming five years as we help this country become greener," Brachlianoff told Reuters in a telephone interview.Three quarters of Veolia's UK revenue comes from waste recycling, the rest from energy services and water.Unlike other countries which boost recycling through legislation and subsidies, Britain imposes a steadily increasing landfill tax, now around 85 pounds per tonne.Brachlianoff said that as the tax had been consistent and predictable, it had spurred a large recycling industry. Twenty years ago Britain was landfilling some 80 percent of its waste; that percentage has now more than halved, she said.Companies such as Veolia, France's Suez, Britain's Biffa and Pennon unit Viridor as well as a string of smaller niche players are recycling paper, plastic, wood, metals and glass, while organic waste is composted, burned or used as feedstock for biogas production.Veolia also handles hazardous waste and decommissions North Sea oil rigs. Over the past decade, the firm has invested more than 1.5 billion pounds in its British operations. Unlike in its French market, it does not operate drinking water concessions, but sells services to utilities.Veolia also sells energy efficiency services to industrial customers and operates 10 energy-from-waste plants, which feed over 2 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year to the grid.Brachlianoff said if all of Britain's waste was reused, up to 10 percent of its green energy and up to two percent of its power could come from waste incineration."Waste cannot replace nuclear or coal, but among green energies it is significant, not a niche market," she said.Britain's Interserve said last month it would exit its energy-from-waste business after taking a 70 million pound charge.Brachlianoff said waste was hard to burn as it can be heterogeneous, containing high-energy plastics as well as wet organic material.She said some waste, such as asbestos or inert materials, could not be recycled for now."Some five percent of waste will still go to landfill for quite a while," she said.(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Mark Potter)"
Lupo di mare
01 Sep 2016
Director change McCauley gone, just like that. Reassuring statement that they're on track for this year, so hopefully his sudden departure had nothing to do with performance. An unexpected departure like that is somewhat unsettling but not enough for me to abandon ship.His replacement, Phil Piddington, appears to have very good credentials.
Lupo di mare
12 Aug 2016
Re: HL view Been watching for a week or so hoping it might just dip. Soddit, piled in this AM at 890.I drink water and I don't like to see waste - sorted.
nk1999
07 Aug 2016
HL view Picked as 1 of their 5 best income stocks:"Pennon: washes wellPennon, the parent company of South West Water and Viridor waste management, offers a slightly more attractive dividend policy than National Grid. From a similar starting yield of 4%, Pennon sets out to increase its payout by 4% above RPI. Like National Grid, much of what Pennon does is subject to regulation, but there is still room for profits to be made should Pennon’s water and wastewater businesses clear the regulator’s bar. Last year, Pennon generated a return on regulated equity of 11.7%, and exceeded Ofwat’s Outcome Delivery Incentive targets. Performance like this highlights the group’s operational effectiveness, and boosts confidence in the dividend. Around one third of the business is not subject to regulation. The Viridor business, although by no means glamorous, adds another dimension to the group. Despite the depressed oil price hindering the division recently, Viridor is expanding and is expected to contribute an increasing amount to group profits in the coming years although there are no guarantees. "
nk1999
02 Oct 2015
Investec From Citywire:"Pennon upgraded: look past the underperformanceWater company Pennon Group (PNN) has been upgraded as Investec analyst Roshan Patel sees past the recent underperformance.Patel upgraded his recommendation from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ but reduced the target price from 835p to 800p. The shares rose 1.8% to 761p yesterday.‘We believe Pennon’s recent underperformance versus regulated water peers reflects investor concern regarding [waste business] Viridor, and in particular, the risk of overcapacity developing in its core energy recovery facilities market,’ he said.‘However, recent evidence suggests the contrary – some competitive threats are actually waning. In our view, this creates an interesting opportunity for investors, with demerger arguments likely to resurface if the valuation gap does not correct itself. We update our valuation mode, and with our new 800p price target implying over 11% forecast total return, we upgrade to “buy”.’ "
