Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Capita PLC (LON:CPI), Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS), Rio Tinto plc (LON:RIO), Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO), BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT)
Goldman Sachs raised their price target on shares of Capita PLC (LON:CPI) from GBX 1,140 ($17.52) to GBX 1,175 ($18.06) in a research note issued on Tuesday, AnalystRatingsNetwork reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Analysts at Shore Capital Stockbrokers downgraded shares of Capita PLC (LON:CPI) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note to investors on Monday.
Capita in line for 1.2 billion pound O2 contract (MarketWatch)
Outsourcing company Capita PLC (LON:CPI) announced Tuesday that it was selected by O2, the U.K. unit of Telefonica SA (TEF.MC), as preferred bidder for a 10 year customer management services contract expected to be worth 1.2 billion pounds, and added that it now expects to achieve greater than anticipated organic growth for fiscal 2013. …Currently has visibility of at least 8% organic revenue growth. -After this deal with Telefonica U.K. Ltd., Capita PLC (LON:CPI) has secured over GBP2.0 billion of major new and extended contracts to date in 2013
Capita PLC : Capita selected by O2 to form 10 year partnership (4-Traders)
Capita PLC (LON:CPI) today announces that it has been selected by leading communications company Telefónica UK (O2) as their preferred bidder to form a 10 year strategic partnership for customer management services. The deal, which builds on Capita PLC (LON:CPI)’s existing long-term partnership with O2, will see Capita PLC (LON:CPI) run and manage O2’s customer service centres and support O2 as it enhances and expands its digital service offering to customers. Final negotiations are now taking place, with the 10 year contract expected to be worth approximately £1.2 billion and due to commence on 1 July 2013.
Marks And Spencer: Lowest Profits Since 2009 (KLFM967)
High street retailer Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS) has announced a fall in profits after a slump in clothing sales. The company made a pre-tax annual profit of £665.2m for 2012/13, down six per cent on a reported profit for 2011/12 of £705.9m. Chief Executive Marc Bolland said: “In a challenging market, M&S sales grew by 1.3%. Three of the four parts of the business made strong progress. “We are working hard to get the general merchandise performance back on track.
Marks And Spencer Group Plc Still Struggling To Compete (Fool)
Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS), the United Kingdom’s clothing and home product retailer with 731 stores across the country, saw profits before tax fall 14% to £564.3m for the year to 30 March 2013. Group sales were slightly up 1.3% to £10bn with international and multi-channel sales, up 4.5% and 16.6% respectively. The Group’s owned businesses in India and China provided a solid performance during the year, with good like-for-like growth and the opening of new space. The more significant UK sales were up 0.9% to £8,951m, although like-for-like sales actually fell by 1%.
Marks & Spencer announces slump in profits after clothing falls out of fashion (Express)
Pre-tax profits fell to £564.3m, down from £658m last year, despite group sales rising 1.3 per cent to £10bn for the year to 30 March. While underlying sales of food rose 1.7 per cent, sales of general merchandise – including clothing – fell by a massive 4.1 per cent in the year. The results leave chief executive Marc Bolland under intense pressure to turn around the high street stalwart, particularly in the wake of an executive reshuffle and the launch of a new clothing range last week.
Rio Tinto mines three rare red diamonds at Argyle mine in Western Australia (EBR)
Global mining giant Rio Tinto plc (LON:RIO) has mined three rare red diamonds from its Argyle Diamond mine in Western Australia. The company is planning to sell the stones at its annual tender of rare colored stones later during 2013. It is said to be the first sale in which red diamonds are being offered at the tender in 30-year history of the Argyle diamond mine.
Rio Tinto scales BYOD to 4000 users (ITNews)
Rio Tinto plc (LON:RIO) is the latest big company to allow employees to use their own mobile devices on the corporate network, scaling up a BYO Device environment after a successful pilot. The mine giant kicked off a proof-of-concept in December 2012 with 200 users, which it ran until March of this year. A Rio Tinto plc (LON:RIO) spokeswoman told iTnews the company put a “BYOD solution” into production last month. “We support Apple iOS and a limited range of secure Android devices only,” the spokeswoman said.
Antofagasta Given “Hold” Rating at Canaccord Genuity (ANTO) (MideastTime)
Canaccord Genuity reissued their hold rating on shares of Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO) in a report released on Thursday, Analyst Ratings.Net reports. Canaccord Genuity currently has a GBX 1,065 ($16.37) target price on the stock. Shares of Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO) traded down 0.96% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting GBX 926.00. Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO) has a one year low of GBX 859.16 and a one year high of GBX 1392.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently GBX 1231.. The company’s market cap is £9.129 billion.
Is BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT) a solid pick for dividend growth? (Fool)
Dividend income accounts for around two-thirds of total returns, the actual rate of return taking into account both capital and income appreciation. Given that share prices are often volatile and unpredictable, the potential for plump dividends can give shareholders much-needed peace of mind for decent returns. I am currently looking at the dividend prospects of BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT) and assessing whether the company is an appetising pick for income investors. BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT) has managed to keep dividends rolling higher in recent years, even in times of severe earnings pressure — dividend hikes in 2009 and 2012 came despite earnings per share (EPS) declines of 30% and 18% for those years.
This P/E Suggests BHP Billiton Is a Buy (Fool)
The FTSE 100 has risen by nearly 20% over the last six months, and many top shares are beginning to look quite expensive. …The PE10 compares the current share price with average earnings per share for the last ten years. This smoothes out any short-term volatility and lets you see whether a company looks cheap compared to its long-term earnings. Today, I’m going to take a look at the PE10 for the global mining giant BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT).
