S & U Share Discussion Threads

[cwa1] 28/4/2008 10:20

Pretty persistent strength on minimal reported volume. No smoke without fire, or just one of those things?

[philjeans] 25/4/2008 12:30

But 600p is well up from here and that's very achievable - see the chart - and where we were last year.

I've been holding and singing the virtue of these for many years and continue to buy on the dips for my ISAs.


Strong buy and lock away.

[jeffian] 25/4/2008 10:49

Trouble is, philjeans, it works in both directions! A few small sells knock it back. It's a characteristic of such a company where there is a very small 'free float' of shares and a substantial controlling interest in the hands of the executive board. I've held for years as a divi/yield stock but true value will only out if the Coombs family decide to cash in their chips one day IMHO.

Regards, Ian

[the big fella] 25/4/2008 10:09

This thread is still very quite. No hype here just good value.

[philjeans] 25/4/2008 09:07

Very sensitive to volume - a few small buys and we're up 25p.

Still a long way to go - credit crisis good for some.

[chrismcglone] 21/4/2008 18:00

A slow crawl back to £5.

[dd776] 21/4/2008 16:33

nice to now somebody likes it

[philjeans] 21/4/2008 09:23

Nice tip in the IC on Friday - confirming the strengths and 8% yield.

[the big fella] 18/4/2008 22:17

Does look like it is bottoming ready for the next push north.

[dd776] 02/4/2008 09:43

Final year end fig thurs 10th April. bought today @ £3.93
good yield

[the big fella] 28/2/2008 11:48

Still very low rating. S/B near £5 even in todays uncertain times.

[one for the money] 14/2/2008 14:09

Why has this rise happened in the last couple of days?

[philjeans] 14/2/2008 12:40

Coming along fine now.

[chrismcglone] 14/2/2008 11:41

Yep, recovery underway. Business looks fine.

[philjeans] 14/2/2008 10:26

Well off the bottom now and on the long road back - highly profitable; favoured sector in recessionary climate; massive yield; ISAable; very low P/E and still very cheap historically............

[taylor20] 21/1/2008 13:01

Dresdner Kleinwort issued another note on Provident Finance on Friday (target 990p) - tempted to pick up a few. Some key points which some people don't seem to 'get' about UK subprime were mentioned, and the main reasons I'm invested in teh sector:

...While no part of the credit curve will escape unscathed in a macro slow down, we would argue that the lower end of the credit curve could be the most defensive place to be on four key grounds: a) the ability to risk price, b) the much lower income volatility of borrowers (only 20% of Home Credit customers own their own homes), c) the proximity of the lender to the borrower (& thus a greater understanding/stronger relationship with the borrower that could help facilitate repayment) & d) such lenders could benefit vis-a-vis customer growth given their counter cyclical nature. That is not to say that we may not see some short-term impairment pain (& Provident is very prudent in its provisioning of what remains a very short-term & robust book), but the relative position could be much better. While Cattles may be looking very cheap on a P/E of 7.7x 2007E & an 8.0% yield, our sector preference remains for the most defensive plays available. While Cattles may well have worked very hard to establish a very strong market position (& track record on asset quality), it could be argued that the further up the credit curve one is, so the greater the 2008 & 2009 risk profiles could be....

[bench2] 21/1/2008 11:51

No one want's to buy or own financial shares at present too much uncertainty so all old yield supports being ignored , Lloyds TSB reflects this, patience is needed.On the bright side Prop and Hse Builders have staged a counter trend rally after going through a full scale bear market in 6 months.

[pugugly] 19/1/2008 15:21

TBF:- Agreed trading statement is positive - Possibly worrying by omission is any statement on profit - What do you think?

Price continues to drfit down - Last prices from PLUS

18/01/2008 10:15:11 367.00
17/01/2008 13:22:00 365.00
18/01/2008 08:39:52 368.75
17/01/2008 16:15:17 367.50
17/01/2008 16:14:26 367.50

Yield should be supporting but does not seem to be so doing. I think most options have already been discussed but a bit of a concern

[the big fella] 18/1/2008 11:03

Bench

That was my thinking - but I do think it will fall a bit more short term. As you say 8.6% yield is tempting when the company have confirmed business is OK only last month and the signs from the sector is that they may do well from the credit crunch. Value will out.

[bench2] 18/1/2008 10:42

A good ISA lock up at 370p , div grows at 3% pa with little change in EPS over last 5 years, so don't expect fireworks . However this is well run and Coombs family will not cut divi despite cover of only 1.67x. Int cover 6.5x and I agree banking crisis and credit card rationing is good for biz , cheaper and less risky than Prov and Cattles.YIELD 8.6% ...

[the big fella] 17/1/2008 12:58

But along with everything else it just gets cheaper. I'll keep my powder dry and if we get near £3 then i'll double up

[the big fella] 15/1/2008 17:02

The ave share price over the last 5 years is c 5.50. Can buy for c 50% discount for no good reason apart from sentiment. Markets tend to over exagerate both ways so this could fall more. Picking the bottom isn't an exact science but the announcement from PCF today bodes well. The company told us a month ago the business is performing. £5 share price would give a 6.5% yield and PE under 9. That would appear to be more than reasonable.

[chrismcglone] 15/1/2008 16:37

Even if you have to wait 6-12 months for a recovery in the SP, that big fat divie will lighten the load. You could easily get a 20-30% return on this incl the divie within the coming year.

Not to be sniffed at in the current climate.

Although i am now showing a drop of 20% or thereabouts, i will trouser 6.5% so i don't need a huge recovery to get back on track.

These were a long term hold for a bit of diversification and the yield. I only hold about 3% of my portfolio here so i am comfortable with the drop, if not too happy.