Watkin Jones Share Discussion Threads

[jonwig] 29/3/2017 13:48

rivaldo - cheers, I haven't read most of it, but I notice that the family sale gets just a couple of lines - basically, it improves liquidity. I think greyingsurfer (#798) has it right.

[rivaldo] 29/3/2017 13:22

Thanks for the ED report jonwig.

Given Peel Hunt's forecasts of 13.39p and 15.14p EPS for this and next year it's easy to see the share price somewhere between that 188p-217p going forward. Especially with that big dividend of 6p+ each year.

[santangello] 29/3/2017 12:40

......and moving nicely from the support platform at 142p.

One would assume a passing of 159p in the near term would cement the uptrend, which I would be expecting either side of the up coming numbers......

Knicker wetters dropping off as each session passes by, buyers now in the majority.....as one would expect.

[x54v] 29/3/2017 12:06

Tipped as a buy by Simon T today-

[jonwig] 29/3/2017 07:00

Equity Development has a 20-page report on WJG. Brief summary:

Watkin Jones is one of the UK’s leading property development companies involved in two of the hottest areas of residential real estate, namely the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and private rented sector (PRS) segments. Watkin Jones is very well positioned to grow market share and profits despite operating a very low risk and working capital light business model.
The long term fundamentals for PBSA are very positive with growing student numbers, strong demand for quality accommodation and institutional investors hungry for exposure. In PBSA, Watkin Jones enjoys excellent visibility of revenues, profits and cashflow through a combination of a strong development pipeline and a forward sales model. It also has an exceptionally good delivery track record and of gaining planning consents. The company's Fresh Student Living business offers vertical integration for the company within the student accommodation market and offers an end-to-end solution for institutional investors.
The PRS business is very well positioned to take advantage of continued rising demand for developments within the private rented sector. The company aims to operate along the same lines as its PBSA business, by developing a strong pipeline and forward selling to institutions. The growth opportunity could be significant in the medium term.
Watkin Jones trades on 11x PER for September 2017 with a 4.3% dividend yield. For the following year Watkin Jones’ PER falls to 10x and a yield of 4.5% This appears very undemanding given the group’s consistent long term record of growth, its strong cash generation, and its excellent medium term prospects as a leading developer within the growing UK student accommodation market. Watkin Jones currently trades at a 14% premium to the Housebuilding sector on PER but we would argue that this is too small a premium at this stage of the cycle. We conclude that Watkin Jones offers considerably better medium term visibility and growth than the average Housebuilder and should therefore trade at a 30-50% PER premium to the sector.
May need to register (free).
A 30-50% PER premium would be a share price of 188 - 217p.
Reminder, this is company-sponsored research.

[greyingsurfer] 28/3/2017 11:20

The sell by WJ family is still a worry.I don't really see that. This is part of the transition from being a private family owned company to a listed one. Only one family member is actively involved in the company, yet they had a very large amount of wealth, presumably a large proportion of total family wealth tied up in the company. It makes perfect sense they would want to divest. This stage seems to have been managed well and efficiently, and the good news is they had no problems getting institutional investors to buy them. There may well be more sales, but at present, it doesn't look like that presents a major problem for investors or the company.Peter

[manrobert] 28/3/2017 11:12

bt 6300 today

[11_percent] 27/3/2017 16:05

These 2 RNSs are good news.
The sell by WJ family is still a worry.

[2vdm] 27/3/2017 15:36

I've had a top up. I don't begrudge the WJ family getting some money out, but I'd be disappointed if they did it again soon. Great to see the likes of Woodford taking a stake and Blackrock increasing its holding. Hopefully a slow climb back from here.

[rivaldo] 27/3/2017 14:00

Second RNS today - BlackRock have gone above 5%:

[santangello] 27/3/2017 13:59

BlackRock, Inc. joining in the buying at the sales too.

I have added another 45k today, 20k bought, but had to buy 25k as a trade due to funds :(

Lovely base formed, and numbers around the corner......marvellous.

[jonwig] 27/3/2017 12:21

Possibly for his new Income Focus Fund, which I imagine is attracting a lot of money.

[rivaldo] 27/3/2017 12:07

Wow. That will certainly get the market's attention.

Wouldn't surprise me if we get a decent share price rise on the back of that.

[bruceylegs] 27/3/2017 11:51

Woodford - that's half of last week's placing. Let's hope it's as successful as REDD was for them.

[glaws2] 27/3/2017 11:42

Woodford taken a 10% holding

[swiss paul] 24/3/2017 20:27

Lets see if they will be after this shenanigan

[douglas fir] 24/3/2017 14:45

fwiw.....WJG is one of Polar Capital UK Value Opportunities fund largest holdings.

[andrewjones88] 24/3/2017 14:33

Pretty sure it's up to 2 days from purchase

[ditchsid] 24/3/2017 14:14

When do we get the RNS naming the buyer?

[its the oxman] 24/3/2017 14:13

Recovery setting in. Trading update early April and we could motor again.

[hopefuldave] 24/3/2017 13:24

Typical, a week after a buy their shares, they go down.!!!

[skinny] 24/3/2017 11:20

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 that 50,250,000 ordinary shares of one penny each in the Company representing approximately 19.7% of the issued share capital have been placed (the 'Placing') on behalf of the G&J Watkin Jones 1992 Settlement Trust, in which Mark Watkin Jones (CEO) has an interest as a potential beneficiary, and Philip Byrom (CFO). The shares have been placed to meet demand from new and existing shareholders and to improve the liquidity of the Group.

The resultant shareholdings are shown in the table below.

Shareholder name Shares held Percentage %

G&J Watkin Jones 1992 Settlement Trust* 38,901,422 15.24

Philip Byrom 3,167,891 1.24


* Mark Watkin Jones has a life interest in the shares registered in the name of the 1992 Trust, of which Mark Watkin Jones, Glyn Watkin Jones and Jennifer Watkin Jones are trustees. Mark also holds an interest as a potential beneficiary of the Watkin Jones Will Trust (27,857,985 shares) and also holds 7,650,000 shares in his own name. Mark therefore has an interest in a total of 74,409,407 ordinary shares (29.14% of the ordinary share capital).

more.....

[jamie261] 24/3/2017 09:37

Looking to buy more of these on this dip.Question - can level 2 help time when's good to buy today? Share price seems to have stabilised now, is L2 showing strength I.e is now good for my top up?

[greyingsurfer] 24/3/2017 09:16

Agree jw. The family have a large amount of capital tied up in an enterprise that only one of them is still actively involved with. It's no surprise if they want to take cash out. And this seems like a good time to do it when they have easily found buyers. It will be no surprise if more get sold from the same source in the future.Peter

[alphabeta4] 24/3/2017 09:12

I think PJ this was always their plan, often when companies list the previous owners don't get shot of everything at once. As has already been mentioned they often like a cheap valuation to get the IPO away and then gradually sell into the market as the price gets a stronger footing.

This is pretty normal IMO and is somewhat different from directors selling because they think the valuation is too high. Some examples that spring to mind are G4M (private equity holder selling out at £3.10 from memory), MAB1 (CEO at IPO retaining a very large holding that has gradually reduced), ACSO (founder reducing holding over a number of years).

In all of these, and I'm sure there are other examples, the company has continued to tick along very nicely post sale and original holders have multiple times their initial investment.