Director dealings: Dunelm chairman ups stake following profit warning

Andy Harrison, chairman of British home furnishings retailer Dunelm, acquired 94,452 ordinary shares in the FTSE 250-listed firm on Tuesday, just days after releasing what analysts at Canaccord Genuity called a "hugely disappointing" trading update.

Harrison, who joined Dunelm back in September 2014, purchased the shares at an average cost of 547.53p each for a total of £506,202.

Following the purchase, Harrison held a beneficial interest in 416,480 Dunelm shares, roughly 0.2% of the company's issued ordinary share capital.

Dunelm shares crashed on Friday after the homeware retailer issued a profit warning.

The company said underlying profits for the year are likely to be "moderately below" those delivered in 2017 following "materially more challenging" than expected trading conditions in the fourth quarter.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, analysts at Canaccord dropped their target price on Dunelm following the unexpected and "hugely disappointing" trading update.

"For now, we doggedly stick with a 'buy', reducing our DCF based price target from 714p to 675p to reflect lower forecasts, the broker said.

"We accept that it will be some time before investors can regain confidence."

As of 1535 BST, Dunelm shares had ticked up 0.09% to 545.50p.

Top Director Buys

Dunelm Group (DNLM)

Director name: Mr Andy Harrison

Amount purchased: 92,452 @ 547.53p

Value: £506,202

Saga (SAGA)

Director name: Mr Patrick O'Sullivan

Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 128.10p

Value: £128,100

Centamin (DI) (CEY)

Director name: Mr Mark Bankes

Amount purchased: 40,000 @ 130.37p

Value: £52,148

Mckay Securities (MCKS)

Director name: Mr Jon Austen

Amount purchased: 10,500 @ 280.00p

Value: £29,400

Serinus Energy NPV (SENX)

Director name: Mr Eleanor Barke

Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 15.50p

Value: £15,500

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