FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

UK Shares Start Week Lower as US-Iran Talks Fail; Associated British Foods Falls

-- Britain's FTSE 100 closed 0.17% lower on Monday after the failed negotiations between the US and Iran in Pakistan, followed by renewed threats from US President Donald Trump to block "any and all ships" entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz.

In response to Trump's comment, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told BBC Radio 5 Live that the UK will not be involved in the US military's blockade of Iran, adding that the government's response is focused on getting the Strait of Hormuz reopened to lower energy prices "as quickly as possible."

On the economic calendar, investors will evaluate the British Retail Consortium's retail sales monitor on Tuesday, and monthly gross domestic product, industrial production, and construction output data on Thursday. Economists from Deutsche Bank Research forecast the British economy to have grown 0.2% month over month in February, compared with the consensus estimate of a 0.1% uptick, supported by broad-based momentum across the services, production and construction sectors.

In corporate news, Associated British Foods (ABF.L) fell 1.98%, taking a spot amongst the blue-chip index's worst performers, as RBC Capital Markets cut the food processing and retailing company's rating to underperform from sector perform and price target to 18.5 pounds sterling from 20.5 pounds.

"As part of our more cautious view on the European Retailing sector, we see further downside risk to consensus earnings forecasts, mainly due to pressure on ABF's largest business Primark," analysts said. "Although we think a demerger should make ABF more investable in the long run, we think ABF's valuation is full given more limited growth prospects over the next few years."

Meanwhile, Vistry Group (VTY.L) named Adam Daniels as its chief executive officer to succeed Greg Fitzgerald, effective immediately. The homebuilder's shares declined 3.83% at close.

"On the one hand it is good news that Vistry has found and appointed a new CEO, taking away uncertainty around the appointment. However, the appointment appears a little rushed to us: the candidate (Adam Daniels) is internal, and the appointment sees Adam coming in and Greg Fitzgerald leaving with immediate effect. At the time of the FY2025 results in March it was announced Mr Fitzgerald would relinquish the role of chair at the AGM, and remain as CEO until a replacement had been found. We also believe that the market was looking for an external rather than an internal appointment. We expect the share price to be weak as it digests today's news," RBC said in a separate note.

Related Articles

Research

Research Alert: CFRA Keeps Buy Opinion On Shares Of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc.

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We trim our 12-month target price by $8 to $155, valuing HIG shares at 11.3x our 2026 operating EPS estimate of $13.75 (cut by $0.45) and at 10.6x our 2027 EPS estimate of $14.65 (cut by $0.30), vs. the shares' one-year average forward multiple of 10.3x and peer average of 13x. Q1 EPS of $3.09 vs. $2.20 a year ago missed our $3.60 estimate and $3.39 consensus view. Operating revenue growth of 6.2% was in line with our 6%-10% forecast, amid 5.3% earned premium growth, 13% higher net investment income, and 7.9% fee revenue growth. Q1 written premium growth of 4% and full-year 2025 growth of 7% bode well for 2026 revenue trends as premiums are earned. Underwriting results improved significantly, with Personal Lines combined ratio improving to 87.7% from 106.1% and underlying combined ratio to 85.0% from 89.7%. Business Insurance combined ratio was stable at 94.8%. Weighing the Q1 EPS miss with HIG's decent top-line growth and discounted valuation to peers, we view the shares as undervalued.

$HIG
Research

Research Alert: CFRA Keeps Strong Buy Opinion On Shares Of Baker Hughes

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We raise our 12-month target price by $14 to $82, reflecting a combination of our sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) and DCF models. For our SOTP model, we presume the oilfield services business (about 50% of BKR's franchise) to be valued at about 10x projected 2027 EBITDA (in line with major peers) and its industrial energy technology business (the other 50%) valued at 14x projected 2027 EBITDA (in line with the peer median). This blended approach, yielding a 12x multiple, implies a value of $73 per share. Meanwhile, our DCF model, using medium-term free cash flow growth of 5% per year, terminal growth of 2.5%, discounted at a WACC of 6.3%, yields intrinsic value of $91 per share. We cut our 2026 EPS estimate by $0.47 to $2.48, but we raise 2027's by $0.07 to $3.24. We acknowledge that the oilfield services business is likely to struggle in 2026 owing to the U.S.-Iran conflict, but the IET business appears quite robust and likely to be a source of both accelerating revenue growth and margins.

$BKR
Research

Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Hold Opinion In Shares Of Wab

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We lift our 12-month target to $285 from $275 following WAB's Q1 earnings print, valuing shares at 24.2x our 2027 EPS outlook of $11.76 (revised from $11.46; 2026 EPS estimate up to $10.57 from $10.50), a slight premium to WAB's long-term historical multiple average given structural improvements in earnings quality. While we are cautious on signs of overcapacity in the freight market, an elevated order backlog (12-month sits at over $9 billion), internal initiatives to shore up margins, and potential synergies from M&A activity positions WAB to continue growing earnings at double-digit rates in 2026-2027, in our view. Despite tariff-related cost pressures, WAB has done a commendable job of defending margins via a mix of pricing, lean manufacturing, and pruning of lower-profit operations. Q1 results were mixed but overall positive, in our view. We maintain our Hold recommendation on shares.

$WAB