Alan Tittymarsh
30 Aug 2016
Overvalued One of the more overvalued shares in the FTSE 250, it's difficult to justify a forward P/E of over 25 wth meagre final profits forecast. We've seen this all before with BBY. Loads of big contracts trumpeted, then the sp shoots up once a year on wildly optimistic noise, only to disappoint inevitably. This time it will be different (of course).
II Editor
17 Aug 2016
NEW ARTICLE: Dividend puts Balfour near 2016 high "Recovering infrastructure group LSE:BBY:Balfour Beatty has restarted dividend payments after taking an 18-month break to focus on a major turnaround programme. Balfour isn't in the clear yet - there is much still to do - but with little impact ..."[link]
nk1999
17 Aug 2016
Liberum fROM cITYWIRE:"Balfour contract win electrifies LiberumBalfour Beatty’s win of a $697 million (£524 million) railway electrification contract in California cheered analysts at Liberum Capital.Liberum reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation and 270p target price for the struggling construction group, which cut its dividend earlier this year as part of a recovery plan under chief executive Leo Quinn.The contract to electrify the 52-mile Caltrain corridor between San Francisco and San Jose is Balfour’s largest in the US to date. ‘It is a reminder that Balfours has a large and profitable US construction business, which is larger than the UK construction business and is growing faster, even in constant currency,’ Liberum said.Balfour is due to report half-year results today which Liberum expects to be ‘awful’ with a loss before tax of around £25 million driven by losses in the UK and Middle East.‘However, we continue to see deep value in the PPP [public-private partnership] business. Balfours trades on a recovered CY [calendar year] 18 P/E of 9.8x or 2.8x excluding PPP. We view the purchase of £200k of shares by Leo Quinn’s wife in June as encouraging,’ the analysts said.Balfour Beatty (BALF) shares gained 3.6p, or 1.5%, to 244.6p. They have fallen 9.5% this year."
trader M
12 Jul 2016
Re: 5.8% up today? Lets hope she is a fan of big and plentiful construction - lord knows there is a great requiremen
sgd
11 Jul 2016
Re: 5.8% up today? I think so, not just this share but many others also. One reason is that uncertainty has been removed with the appointment of a new PM. Who it is probably didn't matter as much as the issue being resolved now rather than in 3 months time.
trader M
11 Jul 2016
5.8% up today? Correction from overselling?
nk1999
24 Mar 2016
Re: Numis "Balfour Beatty best placed for profit recoveryGrowth potential at Balfour Beatty (BALF) coupled with a rising portfolio value means the construction company has the strongest profit profile in the sector. Numis analyst Howard Seymour retained his ‘add’ recommendation and target price of 294p on the shares, which rose 1.3% to 251.9p yesterday. ‘We remain convinced of the growth potential of the investments business in value terms, and expect disposal profits to reduce over the coming years which will improve the underlying portfolio value,’ he said. ‘Services recovery is clearly the major driver of the shares, however. 2015 services losses reflected the acceleration of management actions to eliminate legacy issues in our view, and this coupled with existing tangible cost and cashflow benefits will progressively provide Balfour with the strongest profit recovery profile in the sector.’ "From Citywire.
nk1999
17 Mar 2016
Numis From Citywire yesterday:"Balfour Beatty: profit prospects look goodConstruction company Balfour Beatty (BALF) is expected to return to profit this year despite UK losses. Numis analyst Howard Seymour retained his ‘add’ recommendation and target price of 290p. The shares fell 2.5% to 252.7p yesterday.‘UK losses were always going to be the key feature of results, but we believe the tangible management progress on costs and cash performance set the scene for movement back to profit in 2016,’ he said. ‘We contend that the majority of legacy issues will be eliminated this year, and outline here our 2018 estimates which are driven by management initiatives to give Balfour the strongest recovery profile in the sector. Meantime the ongoing value of, and investment in, the public private partnership portfolio continues to provide strong underpinning at the current share price. We therefore expect a progressive re-rating from special situation to recovery stock for the company – in an industry which is only at the start of the upturn in terms of government investment and industry recovery.’ "
Jack Diamonds
16 Dec 2015
Holding pattern at £2.60 - £2.70 We have been here for a while now as Leo Quinn works his magic. Tough job but a tough Operator.........Is BBY on course for better results as the dead wood is cleared away. Time will tell.......but I'm betting we are on the mend to better time
Jack Diamonds
26 Aug 2015
Super Sewer....... ........where there's Muck, there's Brass...Good Win and holding up wellJackBalfour Beatty's joint venture with Morgan Sindall and BAM Nuttall has been awarded a £416m contract to construct part of London's new 'super sewer', the Thames Tideway Tunnel, for Bazalgette Tunnel.The Thames Tideway Tunnel will ensure the capital's sewerage system is fit to support its projected population for at least the next 100 years, and will tackle the issue of discharges of untreated sewage that currently enter the River Thames on a regular basis.Balfour Beatty's three-way equal joint venture, which is known as BMB and was appointed as preferred bidder for the scheme in February 2015, will create the six kilometre 'West' section of the 25km Thames Tideway Tunnel. BMB's 'West' section will run from Acton in West London to Wandsworth in South West London and will incorporate seven separate work sites along the route. Works will include design, construction, commissioning and maintenance for a two to five year period following construction completion.A digital construction approach utilising Building Information Modelling (BIM) will allow full testing and simulation of construction activity before works start on site for safe and efficient delivery.Project materials will be transported down the River Thames to ease road congestion, emissions and disruption throughout the duration of the project.
Didledum
19 Aug 2015
Electrification of Rail services between Blackpool and Preston Without any explanation from Network Rail or Balfour Beatty, I wonder why by MUTUAL CONSENT the contract has been terminated - although BBY will be retained for design services.The termination of the existing contract was apparently the result of frequent delays but no reasons have been given for them..Having regard to the changes being made by Leo Quinn and the recent rises of BBY shares, and the seemingly bland announcement, I believe we need some clarification of the announcement and to which party one can attach elements of blame.
nk1999
15 Aug 2015
Telegraph- Questor "The Questor Column:Questor’s worst share tip makes progress: Balfour Beatty has something of a problem. While it would like to draw a line under loss-making contracts and reassure investors that the turnaround is on track, in the notoriously tricky world of construction it simply can’t offer those assurances. From the home kitchen extension to the multi-billion-pound national infrastructure project, there is always an element of finger in the air when working out how much the materials, manpower and expertise will cost. Balfour Beatty has become something of a poster child for the sector’s woes. The previous management team has been culled following a string of profit warnings, Balfour was nearly taken over by rival Carillion last year and the dividend was axed in March this year. Balfour has plenty of qualities to ride out the storm. Under Mr Quinn a focus on cash led to an inflow of £362 million in the first half, leaving a £260 million cash pile on the balance sheet at June 26. The business is focusing on cutting costs and made £25 million in savings during the first six months with a total target of £100 million by the end of next year. Mr Quinn is tentatively optimistic on the outlook. There are some big projects on the horizon such as HS2, British nuclear and tenders for a potential new runway at Heathrow. The order book is stable, down slightly from £10.4 billion to £10.3 billion at the end of June. Balfour Beatty has been one of Questor’s worst share tips, having recommended them at 273p in October 2013 and again at 293.5p January 2014, on early signs of a recovery it has been a rollercoaster ride. We’ve learnt our lesson and until trading is solidly profitable and dividends return it remains a hold. Balfour Beatty at 261.6p+9.9p. Questor says “Hold”"
Jack Diamonds
12 Aug 2015
Re: Liberum "If the market senses that this is really the last warning, the shares could actually move up materially.’"If we belive what we are told, we are at the beginning of transformational changes at BBY. In difficult waters, a cruise ship is hard to turn. However, once the Captain has the liner on a new course the outlook could be much better.Nice 4% climb today, but let's see how the SP reacts in the medium term !
Field Marshall Lodl
12 Aug 2015
On the up? I don't think so. The FTSE is taking a hammering and guess what...BBY has another set of appalling figures. When does it end?
nk1999
11 Aug 2015
Liberum From Citywire:"Big losses expected at Balfour BeattyThe large loss expected to be reported in Balfour Beatty’s (BALF) interim results on Wednesday is not deterring Liberum from its ‘buy’ stance on the construction company.‘Unusually for us, we have no interim earnings estimate over and above the certainty that there will be a large reported loss,’ it said.‘There is every chance that there is another downgrade to reflect further prudence on areas already reviewed, or a fresh look at the Far East business, where we are aware of problems,’ it added.However, the fact that the shares have increased 10% since the [profit warning last month] makes it difficult to know what can make the shares go down. If the market senses that this is really the last warning, the shares could actually move up materially.’Liberum has a 285p target price on Balfour Beatty, which rose 1.4% to 245p yesterday."
