Barclays cuts UK water utilities on negative sector outlook; shares fall
** Shares of UK water companies Pennon PNN.L, United Utilities UU.L and Severn Trent SVT.L all open lower between 4%-5%
** FTSE 100 .FTSE down 2.13% while FTSE midcap .FTMC down 2.57%
** Pennon down 5.2% at 598p, United Utilities down 4.9% at 1,007 and Severn Trent down 4.2% at 2,542p
** Barclays says it is no longer so positive on the sector following Ofwat's Draft Determinations and annual performance reports of the companies
** Brokerage downgrades United Utilities to Underweight from Equal Weight, cuts PT to 975p from 1315p
** Severn Trent and Pennon downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with price cuts to 2500p and 685p, respectively
** Says assumes position after Ofwat did not categorise UU's business plan as 'Outstanding', against expectations and as company included in Ofwat's wastewater investigation
** For SVT, even with an 'Outstanding' business plan, its outcome delivery incentives challenge "appears to have become tougher than for the other water companies"
** Barclays cut PNN targets to reflect lower return expectations
** Ofwat is due to publish a final decision on future bills and investment on Dec. 19; brokerage expects it to be delayed into January with a further 6-9 months delay on a CMA referral submission
Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
