FTSE 250 movers: Petrofac plunges, Beazley beats expectations
London’s FTSE 250 was down 1.02% at 18,878.36 in afternoon trading on Thursday, with big falls for Petrofac and Cranswick dragging the index downwards.
Banks
4,024.34
17:09 25/04/24
Ferrexpo
51.90p
16:40 25/04/24
FTSE 250
19,601.98
17:09 25/04/24
FTSE 350
4,434.34
17:09 25/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,387.94
16:49 25/04/24
Industrial Metals & Mining
6,973.80
17:09 25/04/24
Virgin Money UK
1,696.10p
16:30 25/04/24
The oilfield services provider's shares crumbled after one of its former executives pleaded guilty to 11 counts of bribery as part of an ongoing investigation into the company by the Serious Fraud Office.
Food producer and supplier Cranswick tumbled as it said revenue edged down 2% over the festive period and operating margin was likely to decline amid a "challenging" commercial landscape, with broker Peel Hunt cutting the companies price target to 2,600p in response.
Challenger bank CYBG retreated after a 17% gain this week, with Shore Capital cutting its target price for the stock from 305p to 320p and downgraded adjusted EPS forecasts for 2019F, 2020F and 2021F by 10%, 11% and 6% respectively, mainly due to higher impairments.
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust dropped as it went ex-dividend.
Beazley came in as the top riser as its pre-tax profit for 2018 came in ahead of analysts' expectations and the insurer said it expects a stronger 2019, with firmer pricing for some lines of business and higher interest rates set to underpin its investment returns.
"In our view the outlook commentary is encouraging. Beazley reported strong top line growth, helped by good growth in its US operations and it expects more of the same in 2019 . It sees 'positive momentum' on rates and, as we have previously flagged, higher interest rates 'should deliver stronger returns going forward,'" said a note from Canaccord.
Fashion brand Superdry managed to pare earlier losses to inch upward after it posted a drop in third-quarter revenue amid weak store sales as it pinned the blame on unseasonably warm weather and product mix.
Ferrexpo climbed as Deutsche Bank reiterated its 'buy' recommendation and stated that the miner "is well positioned to gain from the anticipated reduction in pellet export volumes in 2019/20" and could be debt free by the end of the year.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,878.36 -1.02%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Beazley (BEZ) 521.00p 5.47%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 581.50p 2.65%
Superdry (SDRY) 517.50p 1.77%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 264.70p 1.73%
Indivior (INDV) 104.35p 1.31%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,300.00p 1.25%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 324.86p 1.19%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 1,214.00p 1.17%
Cobham (COB) 112.85p 0.89%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 579.00p 0.87%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 404.70p -27.60%
Cranswick (CWK) 2,628.00p -11.34%
Premier Oil (PMO) 71.25p -4.75%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 1,294.88p -4.72%
Capita (CPI) 113.65p -4.29%
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 1,199.78p -3.86%
Jupiter European Opportunities Trust (JEO) 695.00p -3.74%
CYBG (CYBG) 196.30p -3.68%
FirstGroup (FGP) 91.33p -3.41%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,500.00p -3.10%