Financial Trading Blog
Stock of the day 10/05/2016 – ITV PLC
After recovering from its autumnal slump by the end of last year 2016 immediately got off to a poor start for ITV, the stock dipping below £2.50 towards the end of January. By the start of February ITV had managed to lift itself back to £2.70, though the intense volatility of the second month of the year quickly put an end to the company’s nascent recovery as ITV plunged nearly 10% in 2 days to hit £2.37.
(Source: IT-Finance.com 10/05/2016)
A rebound above £2.50 by the end of February was just as brief, ITV’s full year report at the start of March putting it on track to trickle below £2.30 in the middle of the month. In many ways its post-update plunge was a tad harsh on ITV; the company did mange an impressive 18% rise in pre-tax profits to £843 million off the back of a 15% surge in revenue to £2.97 billion, leading to a special 10p dividend on top of the already stellar 28% jump in the full year pay-out to 6p. Yet those inarguably strong figures were overshadowed by a worrying softness in the company’s viewership, audiences shrinking by 3% across the 12 month period as new failures like Jekyll and Hyde joined the increasingly creaky nature of its flagship shows, epitomised in the decline of former ratings juggernaut The X Factor.
Following that ratings shock ITV managed to climb back above £2.40 in the second half of March, chugging along without much movement until the middle of April, when the stock took another tumble. That fall was exacerbated last week as Deutsche Bank reiterated its ‘sell’ rating, stating that hopes of a second half recovery are ‘too optimistic’. ITV PLC now sits at a current trading price of £2.19 (IT-Finance.com, 10/05/2016).
In terms of the company’s first quarter figures on Thursday, analysts are expecting ITV to post a 12% rise in revenue, despite a near complete halt in ad revenue growth, thanks to the continually robust nature of its production division.
ITV PLC has a consensus rating of ‘Buy’ with an average target price of £2.79.
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.
