Ashtead Share Discussion Threads

[kilgallp] 20/6/2018 11:47

Thanks Ianw, but I could have got them 40p cheaper if I hadn't dallied. C'est la vie!

[waldron] 20/6/2018 11:02

Home » Reports » Broker Ratings » Ashtead Group plc 22.7% Potential Upside Indicated by Numis
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Ashtead Group plc 22.7% Potential Upside Indicated by Numis

Posted by: Amilia Stone 20th June 2018

Ashtead Group plc with EPIC/TICKER (LON:AHT) has had its stock rating noted as ‘Retains’; with the recommendation being set at ‘BUY’ this morning by analysts at Numis. Ashtead Group plc are listed in the Industrials sector within UK Main Market. Numis have set a target price of 2800 GBX on its stock

[ianwwwhite] 20/6/2018 10:52

kilgallp,

Well done with your purchase, with hindsight, looks like your timing was pretty good :-)

[ianwwwhite] 20/6/2018 10:50

arab3

No, sorry, I don't use it...

[arab3] 20/6/2018 10:14

anyone know why the advfn homepage has changed ?

[bracke] 20/6/2018 10:04

Filling the gap.

[kilgallp] 20/6/2018 09:59

Added a few late yesterday, thinking we might follow last year's pattern....should have done it earlier!

[discodave4] 20/6/2018 08:21

Thanks Ian.

[ianwwwhite] 20/6/2018 07:42

DD

Thanks, most encouraging.

[discodave4] 20/6/2018 00:00

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Jefferies said equipment rental company Ashtead is continuing to play the long game, targeting growth and market share gains. With Ashtead's fourth-quarter pre-tax profits coming in just 1% below expectations, Jefferies believed that the firm's yield, at flat year-on-year, was simply a factor of the business, given the company's maturity and point in the cycle, and that currently, with a lot of market share gain potential and further runway for volume growth, cannibalising its annuity growth with customers for aggressive rate rises would be unhelpful. Jefferies said that despite the decline in the drop-through seen in Ashtead's rental revenue growth in the fourth quarter, that had been the result of a number of items, including some one-offs, while the fall in its Canadian margins at the EBITDA level was solely the result of one-off costs linked with the integration of its newly acquired CRS business in Canada. Hence, it left its underlying assumptions "largely unchanged" even as it factored-in the recent tailwind from foreign exchange and slightly higher interest costs. Looking ahead, the broker forecast rate rises of between 2%-3%, although yield was likely to still be a drag. For fiscal year 2019, the broker expected volume growth of 12% and yield improvements of 1% from its Sunbelt Rental wing. All in all, Jefferies reiterated its 'buy' rating and 2,750p target price on Ashtead's stock, while over at Peel Hunt, analysts lifted their target price on Ashtead from 2,300p to 2,500p following the firm's "excellent" annual results.

[bracke] 19/6/2018 17:18

Good day uppompeii

No the opposite.

The Council congratulated me on my forecast of a drop to the previous high and my good sense to cover the shorts prior to the results.

They did comment that my first short was properly analysed but that I should have covered it earlier when it failed to act as expected.

They liked my thought that resistance would be probable at 2300....which it was.

It is also worth noting that it is at the lower dashed trendline.

The Council wished me well in my endeavours and looked forward to the next Chapter of 'Bracke v AHT'.

[ianwwwhite] 19/6/2018 16:44

Over 5 million AHT shares traded today (edited)

[ianwwwhite] 19/6/2018 16:41

DD

Great H&L article link above thanks.

IW

[uppompeii] 19/6/2018 16:27

So bracke, have you started the climb up the mountain yet to face the adjudicators for a second time?

[discodave4] 19/6/2018 16:23

Fairly balanced view from H&L:hTTp://www.hl.co.uk/shares/share-research/201806/ashtead-solid-growth-as-us-construction-boomsDD

[ianwwwhite] 19/6/2018 14:21

Good post, thanks grupo

[grupo] 19/6/2018 13:48

How a little known UK company has cleaned up in America

FTSE 100-company Ashtead plans to invest up to £1.3bn this year on growth after posting a near £1bn profit.

13:17, UK, Tuesday 19 June 2018
The devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas
Image: The devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas

By Ian King, Sky News Business Presenter

It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good - as the equipment rental company Ashtead has shown today with its results.

Ashtead, which this December will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its admission to the FTSE-100, reported a 13% rise in full-year pre-tax profits to £862.1m.

That was due in part to some extra $100m worth of sales arising from clean-ups in the wake of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Yet the benefits of that unexpected uplift should not be exaggerated when total sales during the year rose by 20% to £3.7bn.

Of greater benefit during the year was President Trump's tax cuts, which generated a one-off tax credit worth £106.7m to the company, meaning that profits after tax surged by 93% to £968.8m.

The size of that tax credit serves to highlight that, despite having a British chief executive, being listed on the London Stock Exchange and taking its name from the Surrey village in which it was founded 72 years ago, Ashtead these days is largely an American company.

Its Sunbelt business is the second largest equipment rental firm in North America, with 712 stores in 46 US states and in Canada.

It accounted for 88% of group sales in the most recent financial year and 93% of group operating profits.

And the US is trading strongly, not just in the traditional construction markets Sunbelt serves, but also in newer non-construction sectors and in new product lines such as power equipment.

Chief executive, Geoff Drabble, highlighted America's low unemployment rate, the pick-up in consumer spending and recent evidence that housebuilding is picking up as significant factors.

But he insisted this was not the only reason why he was confident of further growth: "To me, the most important factor driving our growth expectations are the continued structural changes in our market. The big are just going to get bigger."

Pointing out that Sunbelt's share of the US market had doubled since 2010, he predicted further consolidation in the market felt "inevitable", which he said was why Ashtead had recently been investing in its central operations. He said this was to support a larger company in coming years.

Mr Drabble, who has been chief executive since January 2007 is now the Footsie's sixth-longest serving boss, added: "What really excites me is that we have still only got 8% market share. There's tons to go at. We see significant growth ahead."

In the UK, where the company's A-Plant arm is the market leader, he said the market was tougher, reflecting an over-supply of equipment, but added he could see the market "turning the corner".

Gateshead-born Mr Drabble added: "We seem to be in a bit of a hiatus, as we wait for some significant infrastructure projects to kick in, while other projects seem to have scaled back a bit. So there is this almost waiting for the next wave of construction."


He said there were signs the market was starting to correct itself and insisted he still saw the UK as an important market.

All of this growth potential means the company will invest between £1.1-£1.3bn this year, roughly in line with the last few years, with organic growth the priority rather than buying out rivals.

[ianwwwhite] 19/6/2018 12:04

Bracke

Lol!

[bracke] 19/6/2018 11:53

You imagine incorrectly as far as this shorter is concerned.

One only has to look at the chart to see that they have done an excellent job, credit where credit is due. (Please Mr AHT can I have some free shares too).

[ianwwwhite] 19/6/2018 11:36

Good day bracke

Re post 55380, praise where praise is due, although I can imagine my sentiments may not necessarily be shared by the 'shorters' on the board :-)

[bracke] 19/6/2018 11:21

Goo day ian

Ref Post 55380

You hoping to receive a few free shares?

[2flatpack] 19/6/2018 11:20

May be worth having a punt on URI, they always seem to do better on AHT's results .
Cheers

[ianwwwhite] 19/6/2018 11:05

(duplicated post removed)

[ianwwwhite] 19/6/2018 11:03

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Geoff and the rest of the 'Ashtead Team'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congratulations on another great set of results!

Well done and thank you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~