Hilton Food Share Discussion Threads

[thepopeofchillitown] 15/1/2010 12:24

May add to current holding.

[simon gordon] 15/1/2010 11:39

Indie - 15/1/10:

Hilton Food Group

Our view: Buy

Share price: 203p (+5p)

Hilton Food Group's specialist retail meat-packing business may not be glamorous but it has all the signs of being a real winner for shareholders. The last time we looked at the company – in the spring of 2009 – we tipped it as a "buy" on the basis of the recession-resisting properties of the food industry. We were right, and the company's stock has shot up by 40p.

Now, with the spectre of recession receding, the case is even stronger. Yesterday's trading statement reporting strong performance in line with expectations is just the beginning.

The eye-catching aspect of Hilton Food is its geographical expansion. In 2009 it moved into two new countries, the ninth and tenth on its books, with supplies to Latvia and Lithuania from Hilton Food's factory in Poland.

There was also healthy growth from the company's Irish breakfast meats project and good progress from the spreadables meat project begun in July the Netherlands. Finally, at the end of November, Hilton Food signed a Danish deal with Coop Denmark. Construction is about to start on the £20m facility and Hilton should start to see good growth from the agreement from next year.

Panmure Gordon calculates Hilton's price-to-earnings ratio to be 10.4 times, based on estimates for 2010. And with debt falling to just 0.7 times earnings, there is "substantial room to finance future growth opportunities as they arise," the analyst said in a note. This year's trading environment may remain challenging but Hilton Food is well positioned to carry on the good work. "Hilton remains our top-pick stock in the small and mid-cap food sector," Panmure added. We agree. Buy.

[simon gordon] 15/1/2010 11:36

Telegraph - 15/1/10:

Questor share tip: Hilton Food shares are up 27pc but they're still a buy

Meat-packing group Hilton Food, which packages lamb and beef roasting joints and value ranges for supermarket groups such as Tesco and Dutch-listed Ahold, issued a positive update yesterday.

In the 53 weeks to January 3, trading was "strong", the company said without providing any figures.

Its Central European operations saw robust trading, supplemented by new supply into Latvia and Lithuania.

The company's "Irish breakfast meats" project, which came on stream in August 2008, contributed "positively" for the year as a whole. Volumes are building at its Dutch spreadables meat project, which began production in July 2009.

The company is continuing to grow geographically and now has a presence in 10 countries and construction will be started soon on a £20m facility for Co-op Danmark.

The group certainly has the firepower to fund its expansion plans. Hilton said its balance sheet remained strong with net debt at a "modest level" similar to the end of the interim period. As of July 12, the group had borrowings of £22.7m at the interim stage.

The company is unlikely to unveil any major projects in the short term, but it aims to continue to expand the countries it serves from current bases. For example, it plans to move into Estonia, completing coverage of the Baltic states. The group will also continue to try to increase product ranges on the shelves of current customers.

The shares are trading on a December 2009 earnings multiple of 10.8 times, falling to 10 in 2010 and yielding 4.5pc. Questor feels that the rating is not demanding for a company expected to increase earning per share by more than 12pc in 2009. The company will release the full-year numbers on March 31.

Recommended on April 12 at 160p, the shares are up 27pc since the initial tip compared with a market up 38pc. They remain a buy.

[thepopeofchillitown] 15/12/2009 11:20

Lots of sells going through recently but the price is holding up.

Interesting.

[thepopeofchillitown] 14/12/2009 14:06

Good news starting to flow. Fancy a strong update in Jan.

[ls lowry] 29/11/2009 15:27

Saw this tipped in the Telegraph a while ago now. Undervalued.

[davidwilkin] 29/11/2009 15:17

lets hope we can close above 200p by the end of the week.

[ls lowry] 28/11/2009 19:50

Agreed my family bold a small stake.

[simon gordon] 27/11/2009 10:30

Very good news on the contract front, sounds like there could more on the way in the future. Picked up 5,000 first thing, will look to add on weakness. Have been waiting ages for this kind of catalyst.

[simon gordon] 17/11/2009 15:18

Flat after almost three years:

[engineer66] 17/11/2009 15:01

Surprising large fall today when latest trading statement of 5 Nov positive. The company is well positioned and ought to do well even if it is just currency terms. Weakness seems to be perhaps an over reliance on a handful of customers. Look good value to me but quality of earnings could be a concern.

[davidwilkin] 04/11/2009 20:20

in today off the back of a decent write up in money observer, not the most exciting stock but i need a bit of peace and quiet with at least a little of my portfolio, 225p short term for me and then will re-assess. (Can see these being £3 in 18 months time) good luck all.

[beaufort1] 17/9/2009 14:00

Tipped in today's Telegraph

[beaufort1] 17/9/2009 10:53

Well this is bouncing back very nicely after good interims earlier in the month

[simon gordon] 30/6/2009 09:50

Brewin forecasts - 7/5/09:

2009
T/O - 777m
PBT - 18.9m
EPS - 18.3
DPS - 8.9

2010
T/O - 829m
PBT - 21.4m
EPS - 21
DPS - 9.6

Brewin reckon:

"220p places the company on an EV/EBITDA multiple of 5x current year, falling to 4.5x in 2010: at this level Hilton is still on a 10% discount to its peer group."

*Trading update - 16th July.

[haywards26] 27/4/2009 18:58

There have been frequent substantial director buys here. It does signal internal confidence in the company prospects.

A note of caution - I wonder if the current swine flu outbreak will have any impact on pork sales?

[gordon brown] 27/4/2009 07:03

Even more director buys. This one now owns 6.66%.

[caw1965] 24/4/2009 13:19

can anybody shed any light on the these automatic trades today ....someone started buying small lots of 20 odds shares, then selling a few, then increasing slowly to 30 then now around the 40 shares at a time?? every 2 or 3 minutes anyone small auto tradegoing through. its been bringing the share price down slightly all day? thanks

[haywards26] 23/4/2009 21:25

Like I have said previously they are on my watchlist, but would not buy in with a share price over 165p. Especially in current economic climate, where I think there is a reasonably strong chance of the markets falling further than the last recent lows. Bringing the majority of stocks down with it. At present see better value elsewhere, but with director buys being encouraging, a fall will see my interest grow further. IMO

[engineer66] 23/4/2009 21:17

Looks pretty reasonable value, not withstanding Simon Gordons comments.
Quite low volumes being traded for a company of this size.

[gordon brown] 23/4/2009 18:34

More Director buying today.

[haywards26] 15/4/2009 19:21

HFG are on my watchlist. I like the growth, divi yield. Will likely be a buyer on any weakness under 160p. Will further analyse the annual accounts also, but on initial viewing appear to be fine.