Sse Share Discussion Threads

[lord gnome] 02/1/2014 16:17

Ahhh, yes, of course. A one-day wonder in my view.

[dr biotech] 02/1/2014 13:47

Think its probably more due to the OFGEM report saying that the big 6 are opaque with their pricing.

[lord gnome] 02/1/2014 13:43

SSE getting a good whack with the ugly stick today. I am not aware of any more bad news. Do we have a broker 'sell' recommendation driving this? I can't find anything.

[betman] 31/12/2013 09:48

Hello indianspan
Don't you think that the risk of political interference Will put off foreign buyers.

[indianspan] 20/12/2013 15:28

THE CURRENT SSE SHARE PRICE HAS MADE THE COMPANY A VERY VUNERABLE TAKEOVER TARGET. IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME WHEN BIDDER WILL MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT.

[skinny] 20/12/2013 12:23

SSE plc has decided to select the Limited Life Derogation (LLD) option under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) for its remaining capacity at its coal-fired power stations at Ferrybridge (North Yorkshire) and Uskmouth (South Wales). Under this 'opt-out' derogation, the plant (defined by the stack configuration) can run without fitting further abatement technology for a total of 17,500 hours or to the end of December 2023, whichever is the earlier.

The IED is due to come into effect from 1 January 2016 and imposes emission limits of SO2, NOx and particulates on all UK generation plant. In choosing how to respond to the Directive plant operators have a number of options, including the opportunity to identify plant to take a Limited Life Derogation (LLD). This option must be exercised by 1 January 2014.

[shroder] 20/12/2013 10:02

22nd Jan - ex-div 26p

[lord gnome] 10/12/2013 09:03

Joined you this morning. I am hoping that 1300 will prove to be the turning point. That yield proved too tempting.

[mikepompeyfan] 09/12/2013 08:20

.. and for 'splitting retail and production' read increase overheads and the costs to be passed onto consumers.

[wllmherk] 09/12/2013 07:57

Labour, the politics of envy.

wllm

[philo124] 09/12/2013 07:40

for "investors" read pensioners.

[whiskeyinthejar] 09/12/2013 06:59

Salpara111- I think a new regulator with teeth is highly likely, particularly if Labour get in. Companies awarding large dividends or cutting investment may struggle to get future price increases through. Power companies dont have a free hand here.

Other possible Labour plans including price freeze and splitting retail and production sides of energy companies seem less likely IMO. But possibilities of these things happening are enough to drag price.

Anyway, Panorama tonight may be worth a look.
"Labour energy freeze plan 'could bankrupt investors'"


Apparently, head of the OECD has told Panorama that Labour's plans to freeze fuel prices could bankrupt investors in energy companies. I don't believe Labour would push things that far, but as I say, I believe the possible prospect will weigh.

Panorama: Power Failure?, BBC One, Monday 9 December at 20:30.

[shroder] 08/12/2013 18:58

They have the yearly authority to action a share buy back programme, this is something along with other options the board is currently considering.

Cash will start to accumulate due to hiatus on capital spending, could be a good way to spend surplus funds.

[salpara111] 08/12/2013 14:34

I guess the real concern here is that the government decide to alter the way in which energy prices are regulated and in doing so bring about a permanent reduction in profitability for all the energy companies.
I read with interest that in most US states an energy company must submit a request to the regulator before raising prices.
The profit per customer in the UK has risen dramatically in the last 5 years and it is not unreasonable to ask why this needs to be the case.
I have been watching this one for a while but as most have said, there is no hurry to get on board.

[zastas] 07/12/2013 13:15

Arrived. Next destination 1200 or 1400?

[essentialinvestor] 07/12/2013 09:10

Berkshire has reduced it's stake in TSCO, the holding was approx 1% of it's investment float.

[harvester] 07/12/2013 00:08

arja: yes , once a bottom is hit the share price can snap back quite quickly and sharply
but not always . If you decided to wait before a trend reversal is clearly established the patient wait may still be rewarded but caution and market fluctuations may induce you to delay again and again , thereby losing quite a bit of the up-side . As said it is also a question of time horizon . The long-term investor does not need to catch the absolute bottom . Warren Buffet , who is a pretty good stock picker has heavily invested in Tesco with little or no capital gains so far . Tesco is currently going through a bad patch but Buffet has not abandoned it .
I also do expect that the political pressure will subside sooner or later . Milliband has not yet been elected . It is easy to criticise when you are in opposition without the responsibility of government .
SSE has a very strong commitment to divi payouts . Even if they are forced to cut the divi it probably will stay quite high relative to FTSE average .
At current share price SSE is beginning to look attractive . If it fell another 100 to 1200 that price would look ridiculously cheap .

[rogerrail] 06/12/2013 19:14

There is now the prosect of good growth in the UK economy with the energy intensive manufacturing sector outperforming. Politicians will soon be grovelling to the energy companies to install more capacity. A great opportunity to buy at this level with the very high dividend yield as a backstop.

[arja] 06/12/2013 17:47

harvester ,
fair comments but i wonder if the only risk in waiting for a chart reversal signal is that at times a stok can turn on a sixpense and suddenly shoot up and we miss the boat . But I suppose that does not happen so often and usually time to get set .

[bountyhunter] 06/12/2013 17:42

phil - this seems to be the time of year for politicians and anyone else who fancies jumping on the bandwagon to bash the utility companies (always happens for a while after prices are raised, although particularly intense this year thanks to Ed M); after Christmas I would expect the political pressures to fade somewhat as politicians move on to some other flavour of the moment ...maybe they'll move back to the banks when the Christmas bonus silly season for financial institutions kicks in, or Eurotunnel if they sell the remainder for a song!

[danieldruff2] 06/12/2013 12:08

I once read a comment by an investor who had been following the same strategy with great success for 20-30 years - wait for a blue chip to go over 6% yield, buy, then sell when it moves to 4% yield. Obviously isn't going to work every time but often enough to pay off, one suspects.

One example of failure with that technique would be RSA which has been on a juicy looking dividend all the way down from 600p to 100p over the last decade.

[harvester] 06/12/2013 11:51

arja: admittedly , from a short-term trading perspective , catching a falling knife is often not a smart strategy unless you are skilled enough or lucky enough to catch it just when it hits the floor or is close to the floor . Few of us , probably none of us , are skilled enough to do that consistently . From a long-term trading perspective , buying a share with strong defensive qualities after a nearly 20% fall and with a 10-year above inflation rising dividend record may actually turn out to be smart . Short-term bear raiders shorting cfd's or spread-betting must be getting a bit nervous now and wonder if their luck will hold . Technical indicators like RSI,Macd,slow stochastic are currently at record low points . That often marks a turning point. I am not making a prediction but just noting the technical signals .

[bluemango] 06/12/2013 11:38

Alternatively, why follow cliches rather than instead choosing to be ahead of the majority? Doesn't have to be at precisely the right point, but talking of charts, judging by the RSI it's probably close to it now. Sure, it's risky, but zcaprd7's is as valid a strategy as any other and could even turn out to be 'smart'.

[arja] 06/12/2013 10:29

zcaprd7 - not a smart strategy with respect. chart shows a downtrend short term trend and why try to catch a falling knife ?

[phil140158] 05/12/2013 19:17

Essentialinvestor - Post984 - as the political interference in the relationship between electricity customer, supplier and generator intensifies (although it was pretty intensive anyway!) - I think you are right. But if the share price and dividend fall proportionately, the yield stays the same and as saving's interest remains stagnant, SSE is attractive as an income share. The key is trying to buy as close to the share price bottom as possible. The difficulty for UK plc and the electricity consumer is how can companies raise the capital and the confidence to invest in the network and generation under the current climate? No government can allow this situation to persist and short of nationalisation, the climate has to change.