Watkin Jones Share Discussion Threads

[rivaldo] 10/5/2016 08:33

Hi jonwig. Cerillion was one that got away :o((

There was good comment on WJG recently here:



"The IPO I have bought shares in this month, by manager of £400 million
David Thorpe 4 May 2016

Henry Dixon, manager of the GLG UK Undervalued Assets fund, has revealed the UK IPO in which he has taken part during the past month.

He disclosed that he has invested in Watkin Jones, a provider of student accommodation.

Dixon said, ‘The company constructs and manages student property on behalf of large investment partners. With demand for this asset class continuing to grow strongly, Watkins Jones as the clear market leader, very conservative earnings estimates, an 8x PE starting valuation, a balance sheet net cash, and the business very cash generative, we are excited about the risk reward potential of the shares. Furthermore, with Mr Watkin Jones himself, still at the helm and with significant personal interest in the business, we are confident that management are aligned with investors and will continue to drive the business forward.’

[davidosh] 09/5/2016 13:59

Just to remind you all that Watkin Jones will be presenting at our Mello event next month...

[eburne1960] 09/5/2016 13:11

Shocking suggestion...

[mr hangman] 09/5/2016 12:52

Next your going to be asking to share the subscription cost

[eburne1960] 09/5/2016 11:30

I appreciate that as subscribers you may not want to say too much, but can you give a flavour as to what SCSW says?

[rivaldo] 09/5/2016 11:21

Bought some of these this morning. Been vaguely aware of them before, but failed to do enough research quickly enough - SCSW's excellent article swung it for me.

I note per the above Peel Hunt have initiated with a first target price of 130p.

[nw99] 09/5/2016 08:07

Great new buy in Sharewatch

[simon gordon] 05/5/2016 12:53

Dow Jones Newswire - 4/5/16:

Peel Hunt initiates coverage of recently floated student accommodation builder Watkin Jones with a buy rating and 130p target price. Says Watkin Jones is capital light and construction is largely de-risked with developments pre-sold and forward funded by the buyer. "There is excellent visibility on profits and we forecast strong earnings growth and a healthy income stream over the next three years," the broker says. Watkin Jones started trading on London's junior AIM market March 23 at 100p. Shares are currently trading at 107p, down 5%

[serratia] 20/4/2016 19:51

I know Bangor well and yes it's not easy to get out of. A friend was interviewed for a senior job nearby. At the interview they asked him how his wife would feel about the move as it's a long way from major shops !

[jonwig] 20/4/2016 19:31

Serratia - OK, I wasn't trying to rubbish your point. Any observations will be gratefully received!

Seriously, maybe if they administer everything from Bangor, it might be worth having a plane: see their current developments, quite widespread:

[serratia] 20/4/2016 18:20

jonwig,

Not really a comment from me in relation to the M.Cap. I just see a red flag when an AIM company has a corporate aeroplane. It just leaves one thinking that they're looking after themselves and what other perks they have.
To balance that comment the figures look ok so far so I'll continue my financial analysis.

[jonwig] 20/4/2016 15:08

LOL - well, it's 1% of their MCap, potentially 0% after depreciation. Mind, you could have a point ... didn't Tesco have to sell at least one of theirs?

(A £3m plane isn't a private jet, but not a small jalopy either.)

[serratia] 20/4/2016 14:00

Working my way through the figures. Always a worry when companies of this size have a company aeroplane.

[davidosh] 19/4/2016 22:53

Just to let you guys know that WJG will be presenting at Mello in June...

www.mellomeeting.co.uk

[twonky] 19/4/2016 22:34

Thanks Jonwig. I did some dummy buy and sells and they seemed to be buys to me.

[jonwig] 19/4/2016 16:42

twonky - no way of knowing, of course, as the stamp "Sell" is a guess. But I'd think so ... in fact I bought below mid-price.

[twonky] 19/4/2016 14:50

Am I correct in saying that all the trades at 110.37 are buys not sells as shown on ADVFN?

[its the oxman] 11/4/2016 16:45

A few large late buys , bodes well for tomorrow.

[its the oxman] 11/4/2016 08:10

Looking like a break of 110p today maybe.

[alan@bj] 09/4/2016 18:06

Thanks jonwig, very useful info.

[jonwig] 09/4/2016 14:59

alan -

There are three types of quoted entity in this sector:

• pure developers and maybe managers [WJG]. These don't actually own property at any stage, but they build and manage to order. In WJG's case the usp is that they reduce risk through regular billing.

• pure owners and rent collectors. [ESP, DIGS]. They buy existing or new-build properties, collect the rents and either self-manage or contract out. These two are structured as REITs.

• Fully integrated [UTG]. I don't know UTG as well as I should, but I see them as a property developer, renter and manager. They are the largest company in the sector.

I own shares in (1) and (2), as I think they are lower risk, in the sense that they compartmentalise the risks. So, I think, the companies aren't so easily compared as you suggest.

Also, I wouldn't use P/E ratios to compare the companies, though it's most useful with WJG alone. Look at balance sheets ...

• WJG - net cash, though we wait for first set of results. Potentially low P/E ratio.

• ESP, DIGS - relatively low gearing/LTV which is covered by pretty secure rental income, paid in advance. P/E ratio means nothing, as earnings include non-cash property revaluations (up or down).

• UTG - gearing is about 40% (need to check) but speculative development may be a problem if there's a general property sector downturn (can't borrow easily) or rents don't grow. Balance sheet is dominated by property value.

[alan@bj] 09/4/2016 09:15

There's a piece in today's Times about Mark Allan, who is leaving his role as Chief Executive of Unite Group after 16 years to join St Mowdem. Unite seem to be a direct competitor of Watkin Jones, but bigger, with a market cap of £1.4bn, and profits in the last financial year of £351.9m. Current share price 636p, P/E 3.873, Yield 2.36%. I'm having difficulty comparing the two, and would be interested in views from other contributors.

[2vdm] 08/4/2016 10:07

davidosh, thanks for the flag up. If anyone wants to listen to it, it appears at about 11min 40 secs into his 16 min report. I bought some of these a couple of days ago as I know a couple of people who own blocks of student accommodation. It is highly profitable when run professionally and WSJ seem to know exactly what they are doing. Will look fwd to results that are due shortly.