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EQLS Equals Group Plc

120.50
0.50 (0.42%)
08 Dec 2023 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Equals Group Plc LSE:EQLS London Ordinary Share GB00BLS0XX25 ORD 1P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  0.50 0.42% 120.50 840,135 14:01:14
Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price
120.00 121.00 121.00 119.00 119.00
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Finance Services 69.68M 3.24M 0.0174 69.25 223.81M
Last Trade Time Trade Type Trade Size Trade Price Currency
16:42:08 O 100,000 120.50 GBX

Equals (EQLS) Latest News (6)

Equals (EQLS) Discussions and Chat

Equals Forums and Chat

Date Time Title Posts
09/12/202307:59Equals Group: e-banking and payments group2,930

Add a New Thread

Equals (EQLS) Most Recent Trades

Trade Time Trade Price Trade Size Trade Value Trade Type
2023-12-08 17:42:08120.50100,000120,500.00O
2023-12-08 16:35:25120.5010,00012,050.00UT
2023-12-08 16:23:42120.901,2401,499.16O
2023-12-08 16:21:15120.904,1284,990.75O
2023-12-08 16:04:20120.50100,000120,500.00O

Equals (EQLS) Top Chat Posts

Top Posts
Posted at 08/12/2023 08:20 by Equals Daily Update
Equals Group Plc is listed in the Finance Services sector of the London Stock Exchange with ticker EQLS. The last closing price for Equals was 120p.
Equals currently has 185,731,589 shares in issue. The market capitalisation of Equals is £223,806,565.
Equals has a price to earnings ratio (PE ratio) of 69.25.
This morning EQLS shares opened at 119p
Posted at 20/11/2023 14:31 by melton john
Big7ime,
I've copied an extract from the takeover panel rules that covers two possible scenarios (Thanks to Paul Scott on Stocko in ref to Halfords). My understanding of silly offers is that they are ignored.

2.2 WHEN AN ANNOUNCEMENT IS REQUIRED An announcement is required…

… (c) when, following an approach by or on behalf of a potential offeror to the board of the offeree company, the offeree company is the subject of rumour and speculation or there is an untoward movement in its share price;

(d) when, after a potential offeror first actively considers an offer but before an approach has been made to the board of the offeree company, the offeree company is the subject of rumour and speculation or there is an untoward movement in its share price and there are reasonable grounds for concluding that it is the potential offeror’s actions (whether through inadequate security or otherwise) which have led to the situation;
Posted at 20/11/2023 12:09 by big7ime
red, why put the for sale sign up? I must say being in this game for many decades, I am a little concerned. Directors these days aren’t interested in their shareholders. You know what I mean. Why do they want out? Why did Agfx dirs quit? It’s could all be related, similar businesses.
If things are so good, which on the face of it do look so, why waste time and money on this exercise? If the next and subsequent TU/results are good, The share price will look after itself. Had they been approached with a silly offer? red, you will know the answer to this q, do they have to put any offer to their shareholders or just ones they agree to? Mars are paying 170% premium for Hotc, was that because they needed the dirs on board as they held such high % of the co.
Why hasn’t the share price responded? Dirs here don’t hold a high % so that could be reason. Why wouldn’t they want to confinue with big option awards etc until they are overvalued
I haven’t sold any but have squeaky pants
Confused from Coventry as you would say
Posted at 18/11/2023 10:50 by shstt1
In their statements (interims and response to speculation) between 8/9 and 1/11 they’ve changed their outlook from being ahead of expectations to being in line. I’d say something has happened, the directors want out (maybe similar circs to AGFX and costs of expansion will reduce bottom line)
Think about it, they took a long while getting the uk business to be profitable and they have wanted to expand across Europe, that doesn’t come cheap. In order to roll it out across different countries the investment needed is too much for them which would damage the share price in the short term, it’s difficult to raise money presently, the market is brutal and punishes the share. They’re not youngsters, have young families and probably don’t want the headache of it. Cash out at the high, take their millions and retire, or have a cushy position still managing it under some much larger and well funded organisation. Just my thoughts. Dyor.
Posted at 04/11/2023 11:02 by big7ime
I don’t want a bid either and I reckon neither do the directors, and as somebody else said, the US are pouncing on quality techs at silly prices. With the market possibility at a low, if a bid were to come in, they want to make sure others have had opportunity to compete and see the value and therefore hopefully value the business at a more decent price. So I think this is just getting the word out and preventing a takeover at a silly price. It should have boosted the share price but with the mkt still at very low sentiment that will take some time.
You are now starting to get some big % rises on no news in stocks at rock bottom which suggests we could be at bottom and as liquidity is very low.
Interesting times ahead, I think 2024 will be EQLS year, I can easily see 300p in not too distant future. Fwiw, dyor
Posted at 04/11/2023 10:11 by daveme
I'd rather the company is not bought out, unless an exceptionally generous bid is received of course. This company is going places with its expansion into Europe and I can easily see it at 300p in a couple of years.

Admittedly if no acceptable bid is received the share price will drop but unlikely to be by much since the share price hasn't risen much since the 'strategic review' announcement. In fact the share price had already fallen from its boost after the last trading statement. Any drop to 100p or less will be a great opportunity to buy hence I can't see it being at that level for long.

If Brummy is right and small caps are at their low point then the only way is up!
Posted at 02/11/2023 20:21 by earwacks
Brummy. Much appreciated. Obviously you know the company better than most. So many thanks. Look forward to it. Cant think of a specific question, but on the fundamentals alone I think we are all surprised that the share price has not rerated further. EQLS has outperformed from the period of time when they were competing with ‘no fee companies’ which is not a realistic base. Maybe somewhere between there and the float price is more realistic, since when the business has and seems set to grow considerably with or without a partner or takeover. Maybe it is a question of help to accelerate the business to stay ahead of the game
Posted at 01/11/2023 16:36 by dave2608
Indeed small change but these suitors will be hard-nosed businessmen. There were similar dealings 2 or 3 times recently with The Hut Group (THG). The share price rocketed only to fall back once impasses kicked in. From 120p back to the current 60s. I don't know who walked away, THG or their suitors. It certainly led to a few weeks of high volatility in the share price. I actually think long term this is a £2 share, given time even higher but no deal and it will retrace. Unless of course a beating expectations trading update.
Posted at 13/9/2023 11:04 by 66fingers
Equals is on track to deliver a 70% upside
A leading fintech payments group has raised earnings guidance, but it is only rated on 10 times next year’s likely profit
Equals is on track to deliver a 70% upside
September 13, 2023
By Simon Thompson

First-half transaction values surge 43 per cent to £6bn
First-half revenue up 43 per cent to £45mn
Cash profit doubles to £9.8mn
Operating profit up five-fold to £5.5mn
Net cash up 19 per cent to £17.9mn since start of 2023

Aim-traded fintech payments group Equals (EQLS: 104p), a leading challenger brand in banking and payments, has delivered a robust set of interim results that highlight the operational leverage of its business. The group has also reported a robust trading performance in the third quarter, with revenue per working day up 39 per cent to £370,000 year on year. The directors raised full-year earnings guidance, too.

Supported by investment in a cutting-edge technology platform, digital marketing initiatives and astute bolt-on acquisitions to expand the group’s offering and addressable market, the high-growth business continues to disrupt the market of traditional banks reliant on more cumbersome legacy payment platforms.

The group differentiates itself from rivals by offering both account-to-account transfers and cards, through a technology platform that provides bank-grade connectivity and security. Providing one unified platform to business customers is becoming increasingly vital. For example, many ecommerce businesses only accept card payments, whereas other companies may typically only accept bank transfers.

Within the payments market, Equals is focused on the business-to-business (B2B) customer segment, having identified small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as the optimal target audience for its products and services. The focus on SME customers has been a real game-changer, as has the added capability for them to connect to Equals’ platform via API – a software application used for payment data transmission between two systems. It has increased Equals’ total addressable market and is attracting larger customers.


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In the six-month trading period, the group's larger enterprises solution segment more than doubled revenue to account for 30 per cent of total revenue of £45mn. This is a higher-margin business, too, as highlighted by a seven percentage point rise in divisional gross profit margin to 54 per cent. The net result was an eye-watering 155 per cent increase in the segment’s gross profit from £2.9mn to £7.4mn, or 31 per cent of the group total.

The decision to buy out the minority shareholder interests in its white-label business last year has also proved a shrewd move. Reflecting an improved customer mix, divisional gross profit margin surged from 11 to 19 per cent on 23 per cent higher revenue of £8.9mn, which more than doubled the unit’s gross profit to £1.7mn. Finance director Richard Cooper believes that margins are sustainable at these levels for both divisions.

Cooper also notes that the recently completed £4.1mn all-share acquisition of Oonex, a regulated payment institution based in Belgium, should hit break-even by next summer. Strategically, it enables the group to bring its payments, cards and multi-currency account products to a new suite of customers across Europe and has massively expanded Equals’ total addressable market.
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Robust trading outlook underpins earnings upgrades

Chief executive Ian Strafford-Taylor flagged up the strong pipeline of sales opportunities and the bumper cash generation of the group, too. This has not been lost on analysts at Peel Hunt, who upgraded their full-year cash profit estimates by 10 per cent to £20.2mn based on annual revenue rising from £70mn to £95mn, implying 2023 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) could more than double to 6.3p (16 per cent upgrade).

In addition, the group’s free cash flow generation is forecast to add £7.8mn to the current £17.9mn cash pile by the year-end, and net cash could hit £37.3mn (20p) by the end of 2024, say analysts at Zeus Capital. The board plans to declare a maiden dividend of 1.5p a share at a cost of £2.8mn at the full-year results.

The burgeoning cash pile means that the best metric to value the £193mn market capitalisation company is on a multiple of operating profit to enterprise valuation. On this basis, Equals is rated on 14 times (2023) and 9.8 times (2024) operating profit, a rating that fails to reflect the possibility that earnings per share (EPS) could double again to 12p by 2026 as analyst Paul Hill at investment firm PMH Capital believes.

So, having first advised buying the shares at 77p (Alpha Research: ‘A high tech fintech payments opportunity’, 8 April 2022), and last reiterated that advice at 100p (‘Equals in line for further earnings upgrades’, 7 July 2023), I feel there is strong potential for a narrowing of the share price gap to Peel Hunt and Canaccord Genuity’s raised target prices of 175p. Buy.
Read more from Simon Thompson

■ Simon Thompson's latest book Successful Stock Picking Strategies and his previous book Stock Picking for Profit can be purchased online at www.ypdbooks.com at £16.95 each plus P&P of £3.75, or £25 plus P&P of £5.75 for both books.
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Posted at 16/7/2023 20:44 by clive7878
Equals recommended as a buy in the IC again this week.
Their EQLS share price forecasts range from GBX 150 to GBX 164. On average, they expect the company's share price to reach GBX 157 in the next twelve months.
Hargreaves Lansdown says pe is 28, but £180m capitalisation and £3.24m profit = 28 ?
SP seems very highly rated to go up another 50%, although growth rating is said on Simplywall to be .35%.
Is the IC telling the whole story, or missing points out.
Posted at 30/5/2023 04:46 by carcosa
Technically you may be correct about IC not highlighting Pros and Cons in the last article but if you follow the links then you will find Equals was first mentioned by IC in 8 April 2022 when the share price was 77p, including the following one and a half pages of investment risks, the headlines of which are:

Data integrity and security
Fraud
Banking arrangements and relationships
Significant competition
Operational liquidity
Liquidity
Failure of key suppliers risks impacting performance
Earn Outs

Further they highlighted three bear points:
1. Global payments markets highly competitive
2. Execution risk on expansion
3. Ongoing investment in technology

Since then there have been eight follow up articles, the lastest being May 22, 2023 (the article I assume you are referring to) with progressively higher share price targets.

Simply Wall Street is predominantly an automated output website. Their platform uses algorithms and data automation to generate reports, analysis, and visualisations of stock market data with limited human input and oversight.

In practice, and especially outside the US, it is next to useless for investors as context is everything which is severely lacking SWS. As such I recommend webpage extensions such as 'uBlacklist' to block Simply Wall Street in Google search results.

"Seems a lot of hot air in the share price at present." I would agree with that sentiment but perhaps phrase it differently. On a side by side basis something like AGFX looks better but EQLS can be viewed as having a better opportunity for medium term revenue and profit growth and the share price reflects that.
Equals share price data is direct from the London Stock Exchange

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