Greene King Share Discussion Threads

[essentialinvestor] 13/9/2016 11:17

Added another small amount, back up to last week's position now.
Maybe one further buy then that's it, small position only.

[essentialinvestor] 09/9/2016 14:45

A few more.

Ironically I removed GNK from my monitor yesterday as having sold
it kept going up and did not want to see that!,
which is why was late picking up today's TS.

What a difference a day makes as the song goes.

[andrewbaker] 09/9/2016 14:10

Crazy reaction to a cautious yet optimistic trading statement. The fact is that people are staying in the UK, and tourists are coming, and Greene King will get the benefit of this extra spending. I'm already fully loaded, else I'd buy more; as the drop is a buying opportunity to get more at a low price. The share price will rise again soon, so any medium to long term holder/buyer has no reason to be concerned, IMHO.

[essentialinvestor] 09/9/2016 11:56

I sold my trade yesterday at 836 and then watched to fly in to
the 840's.
Just seen today's statement, thought the next update was December.
Anyway it reads OK to me, just managing expectations imv,
added back 50% of my previous holding, may add further lower if available.

[yf23_1] 09/9/2016 08:25

LFL up and only stating the bleedin obvious re Brexit - a bit of an over reaction by the market.

[spoole5] 09/9/2016 08:11

Confident trading update being interpreted as a profits warning?!

[essentialinvestor] 07/9/2016 11:52

Added this AM.

[andrewbaker] 16/8/2016 11:37

Well, seems like my prophecies back in June are coming to pass: foreign visitor numbers and bookings substantially up, and substantial UK residents remaining in the UK for their holidays; and the pound still well down, and likely to go lower. This must feed through to British businesses in the leisure and hospitality trade, including Greene King, which was anyway looking up even without the Brexit vote assistance. Time to buy more, methinks.

[yf23_1] 12/8/2016 11:18

Strong rebound since xd yesterday.

[andrewbaker] 30/6/2016 09:24

Surely a good share for current uncertain times? A good company, in a business where people keep spending, and tend to spend more, plus it's UK based in the hospitality field, which must be a plus now that the pound is down, which suggests more overseas tourists taking advantage of cheaper holidays, and UK people staying in the UK for their holidays and leisure, rather than have the extra cost of going abroad where the pound now doesn't go so far with its FX rates down so much.

I've been long for quite some time anyway, and will probably add over the next while.

[quemaster] 30/6/2016 00:01

I chose Green King when a had a snooker club and was free of the usual ties that public houses have, they were the most impressive of all the breweries that I talked to and have kept an eye on them ever since. Bought in on Monday and good to see the rise after the market got over the cautious comments regarding Europe.

[capercaillie] 29/6/2016 21:47

Good results yet again. Early synergies.

[timbo003] 24/4/2016 09:26

What a spooky co-incidence!

[yf23_1] 06/4/2016 15:29

nice rise so far

[capercaillie] 12/2/2016 11:31

Made a modest addition to my existing holding yesterday following the strong trading update.

[yf23_1] 10/2/2016 09:50

Excellent trading results in a poor market.

[market sniper3] 30/12/2015 09:55

GNK Greene king

Bullish top triangle.......



Broker note we appear to have missed.

"Overall though, this looks like a positive start for the enlarged group, and management comments about a strong increase in Christmas bookings can only encourage".

Broker.....Hargreaves Lansdowne COMMENT (2 DECEMBER 2015)

Interim results from Greene King are the first numbers to be reported since the group completed the acquisition of Spirit. The headline figures show increases of 49% in sales and 47% in profits before tax, largely due to the impact of the acquisition. Earnings per share rise by 15% to 34.5p and the dividend rises by 6% to 8.45p per share.

The market has responded very positively, pushing the stock over 6% higher in early trading.

Strip out the impact of Spirit and the numbers are still positive, with the original Greene King business increasing sales by 5.4% and profit before tax by 5.9%. Like for Like sales in Greene King Retail were up 2%, Spirit Managed LFL sales were up by 1.2% and Pub Partners LFL net income was up 2.4%. Brewing volumes of Greene King's own brands were up 3.6%.

Integration of Spirit is said to be running ahead of schedule and the group has increased its cost synergy expectations to at least £35m, with £12m to be achieved in the current year. The brand portfolio of the enlarged group will be rationalised, with the group taking a "best of both" approach to combining the two businesses.

Our View:

Greene King has a great track record of dividend growth and the Spirit deal appears to be sowing the seeds for this to continue a while longer, with the group using the boost to earnings to improve dividend cover, whilst still paying an inflation-busting 6% increase to shareholders.

Since CEO Rooney Anand took the reins in 2005 turnover and dividends per share have almost doubled. Indeed, strip out the impact of a tax-related rescheduling of dividends in 2008/09 and dividends have grown every year since at least 1995.

The acquisition of Spirit has given the group a step-change in scale and increased the exposure to managed houses and the South of the country, including the fabulous Taylor Walker estate in London. Managed pub numbers have increased from 1,064 to 1,548 as a result of the deal. The group is thus ever more exposed to casual dining, which is a market with a strong growth record as Britons eat fewer meals in the home.

The integration benefits are coming in stronger than first planned, though to be fair, the expected level of incremental capital investment also looks to be a little higher too, at £40-50m per annum over the next three years or so. Overall though, this looks like a positive start for the enlarged group, and management comments about a strong increase in Christmas bookings can only encourage.

Margins were squeezed slightly in the existing estate in the first half, as the group invested in staff pay rates and customer service. The group estimates the National Living Wage will cost up to £6m a year once fully adopted. In the context of a group with expected future profits of over £400m per annum by that time, no-one should be too alarmed about this cost.

Greene King is currently offering a yield of circa 3.7% for the current year, and trades on a PE of 13.3x, before analysts make any adjustments to their numbers to reflect the improved guidance on cost synergies. With the dividend more than twice covered, prospects for growth look solid in a still improving UK economy.

[market sniper3] 30/12/2015 09:40

GNK Greene King

Greene King broker views

Date Broker Recommendation Price Old target price New target price Notes
17 Dec Goodbody Buy 942.25 930.00 1,110.00 Reiterates
09 Dec Canaccord Genuity Buy 942.25 1,100.00 1,100.00 Reiterates
08 Dec Nomura Neutral 942.25 838.00 900.00 Retains
04 Dec JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 942.25 950.00 1,050.00 Reiterates

[market sniper3] 29/12/2015 16:34

GNK Greene king PLC

Bullish top triangle.......