Kier Share Discussion Threads

[shauney2] 13/10/2016 08:36

Kier gets a kick from consulting firm sale

Construction and property group Kier (KIE) has taken further steps to enhance its operations after the sale of a consulting subsidiary.

Peel Hunt analyst Andrew Nussey retained his ‘buy’ recommendation and increased the target share price from £14 to £16 following the sale of Mouchel Consulting for £75 million in cash.

‘This is another positive step taken by management to enhance the quality and positioning of Kier’s operations,’ he said.

‘We remain confident in the outlook and the potential for increased infrastructure investment leaves the group well positioned relative to sector peers. The shares have performed well post-Brexit but we sense the defensive growth attractions remain undervalued.

‘Shares trade on 11.4 times our revised June 2018 earnings per share forecast and yield 5.2%. Demonstrable progress, strengthening balance sheet – with opportunities for organic growth investment – and improving earnings visibility leads us to upgrade our medium-term target price to £16.00.’

[speedsgh] 12/10/2016 09:57

Yes, net debt was £99m at 30/6/16 (down from £174m at 31/12/15) so will be good to see some of the £40m net proceeds to be used to further pay down the debt.

Disposal of Mouchel Consulting to WSP Global -

"The disposal is expected to result in an immediate profit of approximately £40m, subject to post-completion adjustments. The net disposal proceeds will be retained by Kier for future investment purposes and to further reduce debt, supporting Kier's Vision 2020 target of net debt to EBITDA ratio of less than 1x which was achieved ahead of schedule in 2016."

[shauney2] 12/10/2016 08:04

Nice profit of £40M from selling Mouchel Consulting to WSP for £75M cash.

Takes a big chunk off the debt.

[speedsgh] 04/10/2016 16:05

Kier streamlining strengthens investment case -

Construction group Kier (KIE) has worked on streamlining and investment, refining its investment case along the way. Jefferies analyst Sam Cullen retained his ‘buy’ recommendation and increased the target price from £14.30 to £15.90. The shares rose 4p to £13.17 yesterday.

‘As Kier continues to refine its investment case it remains our preferred play in the UK construction space. A once complex story is being streamlined to offer a vertically integrated play, with exposure to the investment, build and maintenance phase of UK infrastructure and building assets,’ he said.

‘With the outlook for full-year 2017 solid, and medium term growth underpinned by fundamentals we retain our “buy” rating.’

He added that recent results show ‘Kier continues to make progress, articulating a complex story well’.

[ygor706] 29/9/2016 17:04

Ex a 43p divi today so share price liitle changed in real terms. Hinckley Point contract signed which should be positive news.

[ygor706] 28/9/2016 13:21

Chart looking good now. We look to have broken out of the longer term downward channel

[speedsgh] 23/9/2016 09:36

Kier downgraded on share price strength -

Kier Group (KIE) has been downgraded after strong share price growth as it is set to benefit from government investment in infrastructure.

Numis analyst Howard Seymour downgraded the stock from ‘buy’ to ‘add’ with a target price of £14.07. The shares jumped 2.5% to £13.12 yesterday.

‘Kier has once again demonstrated a strong performance in its full-year figures, and we would particularly highlight the strong organic growth, profit outperformance versus peers and materially better net debt profile as key attributes of the results,’ he said.

‘Self-driven initiatives should enable double-digit profit before tax and earnings per share growth to 2020, but we also believe that the strong scope for increased infrastructure investment and greater government focus on the affordable housing market put Kier in a prime position and should at least underpin upper quartile profit and share price performance.’

He said the downgrade was based on ‘recent share price strength’ but the group is ‘one of our favoured plays in the sector’.

[ygor706] 22/9/2016 18:34

Yes......I've also topped up in the ISAs at 1293. I like the look of a big gross dividend and the xd buying that looks likely to follow it.

[wipo1] 22/9/2016 13:40

Looks fully valued I would buy lower down

[deadly] 22/9/2016 10:34

43p XD next week.

Very cheap at 1300p this morning so I topped up.

[shauney2] 22/9/2016 08:30

Agree they look very good.

Margins up.EPS up to 106.75 from 96p.Divi up, debt down to £90m from 141m

116m exceptionals mostly related to their acquisition of Mouchel.They expect double digit growth per year to 2020.

[ygor706] 22/9/2016 08:27

Very good numbers today and a very useful increase in the dividend. Also a very positive management statement re prospects out to 2020. I was disappointed with the 2015 results but things look much more encouraging one year on. We could well see the share price make further progress from here.

[wipo1] 24/8/2016 12:01

Profits banked :)

[ygor706] 23/8/2016 11:09

Today's announcement looks very positive to me. The share price has been in a three year downward trending channel which may be about to be broken. One to keep an eye on but dyor.

[cwa1] 23/8/2016 07:40

Kier awarded three major Construction frameworks totalling over £5bn



Kier Group plc ("Kier"), the leading property, residential, construction and services group, today announces the following new framework awards for its Construction division. All of the frameworks have been secured since the Group's trading update on 4 July and they provide a long-term pipeline of potential contract awards.

[kangaroo joe] 06/7/2016 11:00

Topping up as feel long term value here for my pension fund. I hope my faith is rewarded but I also hold Carillion (recent purchase - 3% down), Tesco (bought quite low recently), Easyjet, (slightly up)and some passive high yield funds from Vanguard, ETFs etc, so hopefully well diversified overall. I also hold Balfour Beatty bonds with nice high coupon, US passive equities, FTSE250 passive, etc. Not long to go before I can start dipping in to my pension so dumping in as much as I can with 40% tax relief - no brainer as I will pay 20% when I retire! Expect to just survive on dividends and coupons etc. Plus a few old DB plans.

[kangaroo joe] 05/7/2016 12:27

@RSharman

I was referring to new shares mainly for previous acquisitions, which means you borrow less but have to pay dividends on the new shares. Sensible approach as too much debt can catch you out, but downside is pressure on having to pay that dividend whilst grappling with integrating the new businesses (complete with any skeletons?) and expected to grow your already healthy dividend. They are also forking out for new back office Oracle (I think) so that will be a bottomless pit I suspect. Then there's a brace of DB legacy pension schemes! Lovely for the consultants!

[speedsgh] 05/7/2016 12:13

Construction fears and charges hit Kier -

Numis has cut its target price on Kier (KIE) following the ‘Brexit’ vote, but is sticking with its ‘buy’ rating on the building group.

Analyst Howard Seymour cut his target price to £14.07, as shares in the company tumbled 6% to 987p yesterday as investors baulked at exceptional charges of £53 million combined with poor UK construction data.

‘We argue that Kier should maintain outperformance against the peer group,’ said Seymour.

‘However, it does seem inevitable that “Brexit” will impact short term and we adjust numbers here accordingly. We believe it an important factor to point out that, even taking this bearish view of “Brexit” impact, Kier should show earnings and dividend per share growth in the current year and retain upper quartile growth profile in the sector.’

[rsharman] 05/7/2016 08:47

Hi Kangaroo. You mention new shares - when was that - I missed it! Thanks

[kangaroo joe] 05/7/2016 08:25

Yes, you are probably right. I never time it exactly right. Bloody accountants too often get greedy and refuse to show a true picture then it hits the fan with write downs, reduced or cut dividend, new management after huge pay offs to previous crew, and then a rights issue/refinancing etc. Auditors walk away: "Nothing to do with me guv!" and analysts never learn, city just moves on and gets fooled again! Seen it with Wincanton, Balfour Beaty, Carillon, etc.

[salpara111] 04/7/2016 12:50

Rather disappointed by the level of exceptional charges so I think I will leave them alone for now.
Sadly I have Crest Nicholson so one beaten up construction stock is probably enough for now!

[kangaroo joe] 04/7/2016 07:59

Journey! Should read Mouchel ! Bloody spell corrector!

[kangaroo joe] 04/7/2016 07:56

Possibly - but often the higher dividend yield is proportional to the risk of a cut. Boards are loathed to cut a dividend not least because of the sudden impact and consequence for directors' incentives linked to total shareholder return.

Turning to the statement: market won't like exceptional but overall looks reassuring. Selling the Journey consulting business pays for closing down Caribbean operation.

Share price should fall or rise or stay the same, I'm never wrong!