Centrica Share Discussion Threads

[mitchy] 29/4/2014 23:14

Moody's places A3 rating of Centrica on review for downgrade .

hxxps://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-places-A3-rating-of-Centrica-on-review-for-downgrade--PR_297739

[mitchy] 29/4/2014 22:54

Yes, slow but steady gains even on down days. Overall, including down days ,we are continuing to beat the market.The constant buy backs are giving a positive bias for sure. Still a long way to go on that score.

[supermarky] 29/4/2014 17:32

Good honest day for cna today. I agree the builders are not for me at the moment. Bg. Has been all over the place since ceo quit. The only problem with bg. Is the divi is terrible and I am concerned the ceo has quit before results. Gsk results tomorrow and barc ims. Ftse having a little surge. Imt doing v good. I should have bought them on breakout last week. Cheers mark

[supermarky] 27/4/2014 23:12

Hello everyone, yes it is very good to hear the thoughts of fellow traders and investors. The reason I mentioned the miners is I find it pays to not have all your eggs in a defensive basket. If a good trading / investment opportunity arrives it is good to grab ahold of it. Over the last few years momentum tradiing has been a good strategy for alot of shares. Tw. Is a good example of this. I have also experimemted with this trading strategy but I do feel there is a switch into defensives lately. If the ftse plummets I think cna gsk imt etc will outperform the market. After selling gsk cna and sbry all in the last few weeks I have cash waiting for the next opportunity. Perhaps I should start writing for the telegraph or ic lol! Cheers Mark

[nabzi786] 27/4/2014 23:11

Im abit behind in terms of experience but its always refreshing to finally hear some intelligence on these boards. Most forums are filled with rampers and people claiming the stock price will double by next week.What do you think of taylor wimpey? I hold a small stake in them too.

[mitchy] 27/4/2014 21:50

Mark - Totally agree on your view of Tesco .You should make money on them at these prices.

Unilever..also agree.. a little over bought. But not be ruled out.As one investor once said " I always buy at the top..because they will probably go higher" !

As for rio and blt ,I've never invested in them personally for the reasons you state but if I were to i'd do exactly the same as you.

We seem to be creating a little investors club here.Always glad to hear what others are thinking on the market and other stocks so long as they don't want to just use the thread to ramp their own stocks.

[supermarky] 27/4/2014 19:13

Since last summer I have also been trading the big miners rio and blt. Miners can be very erratic and you have to be on your toes. Really miners go against my cautious nature but if you get to know the two big boys and know to get out fast if they crash through support then you can play them. Rio is the most racy imo. They are both in relatively constrained trading ranges and I have made decent profits buying at the bottom and selling at the top of the range. I know this is the centrica thread but just thinking aloud.

[supermarky] 27/4/2014 17:37

Looking at Unilever I feel it is over priced at the moment. There is no doubt it is a good core investment with decent enough divi and defensive. Tesco imo is a perfect buy and hold for perhaps 6 months ish imo. Once the negative noise has died down it should rise. I have 5000 @300. Tesco Xd on wed. Looking at ftse it is not really powering ahead this year. Perhaps it has burn out. Us non farm figures out on Friday which will be a big event this week. Mr putin could also have a big impact. Trading and investing is all about putting money where your mouth is and having confidence and convictions in your actions. You can't make money unless you put your balls on the line. Cheers mark

[mitchy] 27/4/2014 15:08

Not surprisingly, I suppose, to find three conservative folk on the Centrica thread. We are here firstly to preserve
our money against inflation and secondly to give us an income. There are apparently over 700, 000 small investors
In CNA whom, I suspect, feel the same way. It's expansion into the US and European markets only add to its appeal for me.
Tesco ticks most of the boxes as well and though they have a very aggresive board they are now competing with the upstarts
Of Lidl and Aldi who can undercut them with there streamlined model. That said the share price has been beaten down from 450, somewhat unfaily
In my opinion.
I'm comfortable with CNA for the moment, I see it as a better 'investment'..but Tesco's share price does look attractive. Nice divi as well.

[nabzi786] 26/4/2014 17:05

Agree with both your strategies. Im quite similar to you in the sense looking for value in defensive stocks but buying them cheap.Was looking at tesco and they just shot up 15p in a week. Hopefully it stays low for a bit as id like to get involved.Although im a beginner and my trades are generally under £1k each tbh.

[mitchy] 26/4/2014 14:08

As for the coming week i'm guesstimating that CNA will stay within the trend. At one point on Friday it touched 335 and looked like it wanted to go higher but the market dragged it back. It's beating the market and should go higher given half a chance imo.

Good Luck.

[mitchy] 26/4/2014 13:46

supermarky - really like your trading strategy. You are keeping risk to a minimum by picking 'safe' companies at the right price and time..respect.
I've either held or am looking at all the companies you mentioned. Would have added Unilever recently but missed that one and watched it gain over 10%..can't win 'em all.

Another one i'm kicking myself over is BKIR Bank of Ireland. It's been on my watch list since it was 10 cents. Just couldn't be sure 'when' it was actually going start moving up and didn't want to get stuck in it without a divi.

The Ukraine thingy could develop into something quite nasty however if earnings keep improving any dips will be quickly retraced imo. Still, lets not forget there's always the safest play.. holding cash! Buffet spent as much time waiting' for the right stock to come along as he did holding.

ps,tsco looks a good play as well now

[supermarky] 25/4/2014 22:38

Bp and rdsb results coming up v shortly. Bought tsco @289 earlier in week for xd and they are cheap imo even if I have to hold medium term

[supermarky] 25/4/2014 22:30

I think mr putin and the Ukraine situation may have a damaging impact on stocks in the near term. all out of cna at the moment. Noticed imt is having a good time breaking out of trading range this week. Thats another good defensive with good divi. The ftse is struggling to push higher imo. Its nearly may. Am I being too pessimistic?

[supermarky] 25/4/2014 22:23

Hello gents. I tend to trade the mega caps of the ftse 100. Bp gsk cna rdsb rio blt hsba barc etc. Have been doing this for years and if you keep well abreast of the news and get to know the stock and important dates you can make very good money. It really helps if you love what you do as you put in the extra time and effort. The great thing about the big stocks is thwy do have an element of security as I am quite defensive by nature however you have to have beleif in your convictions. When you are trading 10/15\20k a trade there is a lot of money at stake. Each day you need to learn

[mitchy] 25/4/2014 20:19

I might just as easily ask advice of you if you have been trading for a few years.The best advice that I gave myself was 'not to trade but to invest'.
Warren Buffet has said he made most of his money whilst he was waiting.
If you try and 'trade' the market you will probably end up losing.

Centrica is a perfect example of a good conservative investment. It offers a good dividend,it's at a bargain price mainly because of politicking and who ever heard of a utility company going bust? It's safer than a bank!

Any advice for me?..i'm always ready to learn.

[nabzi786] 25/4/2014 16:22

I started a few years ago with rbs.. I felt on top of the world when my gamble paid off and I made £500 odd in a few weeks.See myself as a complete beginner tbh. Trying to study and get myself involved more and try to learn as much as possible.Any advice?

[mitchy] 25/4/2014 07:35

My first share was BT in 1984. I remember being terrified my £200 investment would go down. But then, of course, it just kept going upand I screamed at my sister that I'd made £20 in one day for doing nothing. Never looked back.My biggsst win was £42k from a company called Landround. Biggest loss £13k playing the ftse against the DOW.How about you?

[nabzi786] 25/4/2014 06:58

Just out of interest mitchy how long have you been trading for?

[supermarky] 24/4/2014 19:19

Lovely little late surge at the end. Had my hands full with gsk and barc today but keeping my eye on proceedings.

[mitchy] 24/4/2014 17:29

Hargreaves have 11 brokers giving :-
1 sell
5 hold
1 buy
4 strong buy

[mitchy] 24/4/2014 17:20

closer inspection of the charts suggests the circled area where the top of the up trend wasn't quite reached which suggests it's not going to reach 350 in the short term.It did reach 349 but didn't finish at that mark .Circa 346/8 looks more like the new head of the range now.
We kept within the uptrend today, important, but mostly it just kept pace with the market for the most part. Though it was very perky when did eventually go up.
More sellers than buyers today again but that looks to be ready to change so we can continue back up.

Support still at 306/8.

Good Luck.

[m4rtinu] 24/4/2014 08:20

Mitchy - I think this share price is difficult to predict. You say it is range-trading and on an upward trend. Just had a look at the 12 month chart. Last time it went ex div (late Sept 13), it went down and carried on further down. I hope it is on an upward trend.