Watkin Jones Share Discussion Threads

[tightfist] 04/10/2016 08:53

A nice vote of confidence in the UK Student Accommodation market as an investment proposition. WJG is also looking good and the yield should attract interest tootightfist

[shanklin] 04/10/2016 08:21

rivaldo

Thank you. I hadn't noticed the forecast dividend increase to 6.3p previously; thought it had been 6p.

Cheers, Martin

[rivaldo] 04/10/2016 08:16

Very good news today. Given the effect it has on securing earnings I'm surprised the price didn't open up more - perhaps the market will wake up to it later.

Considering forward forecasts of 13.5p+ EPS, a 6.3p dividend next year and £36m net cash, the current share price would still seem to offer plenty of upside.

[2vdm] 04/10/2016 07:51

Excellent news and the business model continues to deliver and that the Brexit fears don't appear to have shaken the student accommodation market very much. It would have been helpful to know a bit more about how much the site was sold for,and whether WJG will be managing it, but presumably there is a degree of confidentiality involved at this stage.

[spellbrook] 04/10/2016 07:33

Watkin Jones Plc Forward sale confirms operating model and increases forecast visibility
Posted by: giles.arbor 4th October 2016

Watkin Jones Plc (LON:WJG) has announced that it has forward sold its development in St. Mungo Avenue, Glasgow to a new institutional investor. This fits with the company’s strategy and the fact that it is a new investor highlights the on-going attractiveness of the WJ model and the UK student accommodation market. Whilst the sale does not change forecasts, the development was already included in estimates, it does increase the certainty of earnings across the forecast period as it moves from a secured site to being forward sold, effectively locking in the economics. Future forward sale announcements combined with new secured sites will further increase investor confidence in the Watkin Jones model and lead to multiple expansion from the current year PER of 9.9x. In addition, the shares yield a prospective c.5.1% on the FY17 dividend estimate of 6.3p, twice covered by earnings on a balance sheet with c. £36.0m of net cash.

Executing strategy: This morning’s statement regarding the development at Mungo Avenue, Glasgow highlights the validity of the Watkin Jones business model and is the first forward sale announcement since listing (March 23rd). The development is a seven story 349 bed scheme consisting of 176 cluster rooms and 173 studios. At the time of the IPO forward sold sites were forecast to contribute c. 55% of the FY17 group gross profit estimate, this will increase on today’s announcement and improves the visibility on earnings across the forecast period.

New investor indicates continued market confidence: Post Brexit, there had been concerns that the UK property market could be negatively impacted. The fact that St. Mungo Avenue has been sold to an institutional investor that Watkin Jones has not previously dealt with suggests the market remains sound and Student Accommodation remains an attractive asset class. It remains early days post the referendum but we find this encouraging. The nationality of the acquirer is not alluded to in the announcement and therefore cannot be assumed to be international, but generally the weakness of Sterling has helped increase the attractiveness of UK assets which includes student accommodation.

Valuation not reflective of forecast certainty: The Watkin Jones plc share price has performed well recently rallying to 123p from the 100p IPO price. Despite this the shares continue to offer value trading on 9.9x FY16 earnings and offering a 5.1% prospective yield on a balance sheet with estimated net cash of c.£36m. A 12x PER multiple on FY17 earnings would equate to c. 160p, offering c.32% upside.


hxxp://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/watkin-jones-plc-forward-sale-confirms-operating-model-increases-forecast-visibility/412711792

[spellbrook] 04/10/2016 07:04

This company has its head screwed on.....


RNS Number : 5671L

Watkin Jones plc

04 October 2016



For immediate release 4 October 2016
Watkin Jones plc

('Watkin Jones' or the 'Group')

Forward Sale of St. Mungo Avenue, Glasgow

Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation sector, announces today that it has forward sold its development in St. Mungo Avenue, Glasgow to a new institutional investor for an undisclosed fee.

The St. Mungo Avenue development is a 1.07 acre site which occupies a prominent position at the corner of St. Mungo Avenue and St. James Road to the east of Glasgow City centre and in close proximity to the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University and the City of Glasgow College. The seven storey 349 bed scheme (176 cluster bedrooms and 173 studios) is due for delivery in August 2018, ahead of the 2018-19 academic year.

Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones plc, said: "We are delighted to announce today that we have forward sold to a new institutional investor our St. Mungo's scheme in Glasgow. With three main universities in Glasgow servicing more than 65,000 higher education students there is significant demand for accommodation within the City. The demand for purpose built student accommodation is higher than levels seen at comparable UK university cities, and we are delighted to be developing in Glasgow.

"The scheme will be developed to a high specification including excellent shared space and amenities including a cinema room, two common room areas, gym and roof terrace. Glasgow ranks amongst the top ten UK university towns and on completion of St. Mungo Avenue, Watkin Jones will have delivered over 3,000 beds across six schemes in Glasgow since 2011."

[shanklin] 03/10/2016 09:31

Wasn't the 130 caused by ST promoting the shares?

[its the oxman] 03/10/2016 09:03

Short term a retest of 130p has got to be on the cards now

[spellbrook] 30/9/2016 18:31

Strange trading today....especially at the end ???

[quepassa] 30/9/2016 13:00

Investors Chronicle today.

-"Buy at 120p Target 140p."

Personally I see it significantly higher.


ALL IMO. DYOR.
QP

[gswredland] 29/9/2016 14:17

Thanks for info brucey

[simonong84] 29/9/2016 13:48

You could be right @SPELLBROOK!

[bruceylegs] 29/9/2016 13:12

Also pumped by ST today. 140p is his conservative target. He also mentions Zeus Capital's 160p target which equates to an undemanding PE of 12.

ST's 2017 target EPS is 13.7p which is slightly ahead of house broker's 13.4p estimate.

[its the oxman] 29/9/2016 12:16

Wishing I had bought more now.

[spellbrook] 29/9/2016 12:00

chart breakout on....

[gswredland] 28/9/2016 17:22

Might explain big rise today

[2vdm] 28/9/2016 15:36

Good to see someone else is also confident about WJG

[spellbrook] 28/9/2016 15:15

nice 175,000 buy...........nice divi to come

[spellbrook] 27/9/2016 16:30

2 stock market newcomers on my radar after maiden results

By The Motley Fool Sep 27, 2016
Updated: Sep 27th 2016 03:46 PM


All according to plan
Watkin Jones was floated at 100p a share in March. The company, which specialises in the development, construction and management of student accommodation, today released an on-track update on projects that have been completed ahead of the start of the 2016/17 academic year.
This continues the solid news issued by the company since the release of its maiden listed interim results in June. Those results saw revenue increase by 41% on the same period last year, with earnings (excluding the one-off flotation costs) increasing 87%. The board declared an interim dividend in line with the guidance it gave at flotation.
With everything going according to plan, the market has begun to warm to Watkin Jones. The shares have edged higher again today to 119.5p, giving the company a market value of £305m.
Undemanding valuation
I like Watkin Jones' area of specialisation, its forward-sale business model and end-to-end service, all of which reduce risk and improve earnings and cash flow visibility. And I reckon the shares remain good value despite the rise since flotation.
A rating of 11.5 times annualised first-half earnings is undemanding, and falls to 9.9 based on the house broker forecast for the full year ending 30 September. Meanwhile, company guidance on the full-year dividend gives a nice yield of 3.3%.
I'm expecting earnings and dividend growth of at least 10% next year, which gives me further cause to rate the shares a buy.


hxxp://money.aol.co.uk/2016/09/27/2-stock-market-newcomers-on-my-radar-after-maiden-results/

[spellbrook] 27/9/2016 10:33

Turning out to be a prudent purchase of WJG ..........


Directors Deals for Watkin Jones (WJG)
Trade Date Action Notifier Price Currency Amount Holding
24-Jun-16 Buy Trade Notifier Information for Watkin Jones Grenville Turner 106.4 GBX 90,900 340900

[its the oxman] 27/9/2016 09:57

Prospects looking good. Steady progress should see us over 130p by Xmas.

[spellbrook] 27/9/2016 09:33

Dividend
The Board proposes a maiden interim dividend for the period of 1.33 pence per share. This is in line with the
guidance provided in the Group’s Admission Document, which indicated that the Board intend to make an
interim and final dividend payment for each financial year, split as to one third for the interim payment and two
thirds for the final payment, with a total dividend of 4.0 pence per Ordinary Share being paid for the year ending
30 September 2016. This is also in line with the Board’s stated intention at IPO, giving an initial dividend yield
of 6%, calculated by reference to the Placing Price of £1 per Ordinary Share, and is an enhanced dividend equal
to two thirds of the full year equivalent, taking into account that the Admission took place near the end of the
first half year to 31 March 2016.
It is proposed that the maiden interim dividend will be paid on 30 June 2016 to shareholders on the register at
the close of business on 17 June 2016. The shares will go ex-dividend on 16 June 2016.

[spellbrook] 27/9/2016 09:33

Dividends to come..