Financial Trading Blog
Stock of the day 03/11/2015 – WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC
Can it get investors back in the aisles with its Q3 trading statement on Thursday?
Morrisons’ last earnings release back in September made for grim reading. A whopping 47% fall in half year profits to £126 million, inspired by a 2.7% drop in like-for-like sales, pushed the supermarket to take some rather drastic measures. It announced it would be closing 11 of its flagship stores and, in an even starker move, would be selling 140 of its local ‘M’ stores (incurring a £30 million hit in the process).
(Source: IT-Finance.com 03/11/2015)
Already in decline, that report helped push Morrisons to a 2015, and year, low of £1.50 towards the end of September. Interestingly the news that the supermarket would be paying its employees the new Living Wage helped lift the stock by 6% as September turned into October, sparking a slight resurgence that, after reaching the heady heights of £1.79, has culminated in a current trading price of £1.72 (IT-Finance.com, 03/11/2015).
Yet Morrisons’ improved position might not last for long. Analysts are expecting another 2% fall in its like-for-like sales, Morrisons’ seemingly failing to provide an adequate tourniquet as it haemorrhages customers. To compound matters, the supermarket’s announcement this week that it would be going head to head with Pret A Manger and EAT for a slice of the lucrative UK lunch market by launching its own brand of fresh in-store sandwiches smacked more of a desperate company throwing everything at the wall instead of a healthy chain expanding into a new area.
WM Morrison Supermarket PLC has been given a consensus rating of ‘Hold’ alongside an average target price of £1.84.
It's easy to open an account
- Fill in our simple online application form
- Fund your account
- Start trading the global markets instantly!
SEARCH FOR AN ARTICLE:
Enter a keyword and search for all relevant articlesMARKET ANALYSIS
RECENT POSTS
DISCLAIMER
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 64% of retail investors lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. For professional clients, spread betting and CFD trading can also result in losses larger than your initial stake or deposit.
Spreadex Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, provides an execution only service and does not provide advice in any way. Nothing within this update should be deemed to constitute the provision of investment advice, recommendations, any other professional advice in any way, or a record of our trading prices. This update does not constitute or form part of an offer of, or solicitation for a transaction in any financial instrument, nor shall it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefore. Any persons placing trades based on their interpretation of the comments or information within this update does so entirely at their own risk.
No representation, warranty, or undertaking, express or limited, is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained within this update by Spreadex Ltd or any of its employees and no liability is accepted by such persons for the accuracy or completeness of any such information or opinions. As such, no reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information and opinions contained within this update.
The information contained within this update is the intellectual property of Spreadex Ltd and is protected by UK and International copyright laws. All rights reserved. Users may however freely download, distribute and reproduce extracts of the contents, subject always to accrediting Spreadex Ltd as the source and providing a hyperlink to www.spreadex.com.
