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Thomas Cook leads 40 fastest moving stocks
The UK stock market shot up 5% in February. Find out which 20 share prices did best and which 20 did worst.
Markets
by Gavin Lumsden on Mar 06, 2012 at 10:55
The UK stock market rose 5% in February, nearly doubling its gains for the year to date.
Of course individual stocks did far better and worse than that. Below we’ve listed the top 20 fastest rising and falling shares in the 30 days from 1 February to 1 March.
Thomas Cook (TCG.L) was the biggest riser, soaring 66% as the struggling holiday firm looked to sell its stake in the profitable Indian airline Condor.
By contrast, there was more misery for Yell (YELL.L) and its investors. Shares in the Yellow Pages publisher dropped nearly 26% after third quarter revenues fell short in both its digital and print services.
To give you some context for the monthly movements we have added the change in share price over one year. Also in the table is the size of the company, the stock’s current dividend yield and the multiple to earnings at which it is trading.
Top 20 rising stocks in February
| Name | Sector | 1 month price change % | 1 year price change % | Market value | Dividend yield % | Price-earnings (P/E) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Cook (TCG.L) | Travel & leisure | 66.7 | -87.9 | £216m | 18.5 | 0 |
| Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWP.L) | Telecoms | 53.5 | -54.8 | £906m | 13 | 0 |
| Ophir Energy (OPHR.L) | Oil & Gas | 47 | 0 | £1.5bn | 0 | 0 |
| Tenon Group (TNO.L) | Business Support | 44.6 | -80.5 | £27m | 7 | 3.8 |
| Enterprise Inns (ETI.L) | Restaurants | 39.6 | -42.3 | £273m | 0 | 11.2 |
| Promethean World (PRWP.L) | Business Support | 32.2 | 24.2 | £144m | 3.8 | 12.8 |
| Bodycote (BOY.L) | Steel | 31 | 35.7 | £802m | 2.9 | 14 |
| Genus (GENS.L) | Biotechnology | 29 | 51.9 | £805m | 1.5 | 25 |
| Xchanging (XCH.L) | Business Support | 28.7 | 69.4 | £227m | 0 | 0 |
| Lavendon Group (LVD.L) | Business Support | 28.6 | 20.5 | £200m | 1.6 | 21 |
| Brammer (BRAM.L) | Industrial Machinery | 28.2 | 17 | £380m | 2.9 | 19 |
| Barratt Dev (BDEV.L) | Homebuilding | 27.7 | 39.5 | £1.4bn | 0 | 182 |
| SVG Capital (SVI.L) | Investment Management | 27.3 | 16 | £836m | 0 | 2.6 |
| Intl Personal Finance (IPF.L) | Consumer Financial Services | 26.8 | -25.2 | £638m | 3.2 | 8.2 |
| Oxford Instruments (OXIG.L) | Electrical Components | 26.6 | 92.5 | £649m | 0.9 | 19.6 |
| Persimmon (PSN.L) | Homebuilding | 26.5 | 49.3 | £1.9bn | 1.6 | 18.7 |
| Creston (CRCRE.L) | Advertising & Marketing | 26.3 | -38.1 | £37m | 5.6 | 6.8 |
| Spirent Communications (SPT.L) | Communications Equipment | 25.7 | -5.1 | £1bn | 1.3 | 16.6 |
| TCS (TCSC.L) | Real Estate | 24.1 | -12.3 | £89m | 6.3 | 9.6 |
| St Modwen (SMP.L) | Real Estate | 24 | 1.6 | £320m | 2.2 | 7.5 |
Source: Thomson Reuters
Click on the share tickers to see fact sheets on the stocks
Double whammy for Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless, which demerged two years ago, makes it into both lists.
Shares in Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWP.L), which serves global corporate customers, jumped 53% as Tata Communications of India confirmed it was considering fighting Vodafone for a bid for the group.
Meanwhile, Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC.L), which operates in several former British colonies, fell 22% during the month after warning that increasing competition and weak demand from corporate clients had hit its business in Panama.
Among those stocks recovering some lost ground were Tenon Group (TNO.L), up nearly 45% on the month. Shares in the accountancy and advisory group crashed in January after a profits warning and the departure of its chief executive. News of its restructuring helped the shares bounce back although the company faces big challenges.
SVG Capital (SVI.L) shares gained 27% after the private equity investment trust said it would reap around £10 million from the sale of holdings in TDC, the Danish communications solutions provider.
Oxford Instruments (OXIG.L) shares continued their rally after Hermes, the BT pension fund manager, disclosed a stake of nearly 4% in the high-tech tool manufacturer. In January the company said third quarter sales and profits had been higher than the year before. Liberum Capital reiterated its ‘buy’ stance on 10 February.
Shares in Ophir Energy (OPHR.L), the African oil explorer which floated last July, jumped 47% as it prepared to start a drilling programme offshore Tanzania. During the month Jane Coffey, manager of the Royal London UK Equity fund, told Reuters she had added the stock to her portfolio, where it accounts for 0.9% of the fund.
Housebuilders continued to shine. Persimmon (PSN.L), which Smart Investor has just written about, advanced over 26%, while Barratt Developments gained 27% during the month..
Top 20 fallers
| Name | Sector | 1 month price change % | 1 year price change % | Market value | Dividend yield % | Price-earnings (P/E) ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kazakhmys (KAZ.L) | Specialty Mining | -10.8 | -25.6 | £5.3bn | 1.6 | 7.6 |
| Mecom (MEC.L) | Publishing | -11 | -28.7 | £205m | 2.8 | 0 |
| CPP Group (CPPG.L) | Business Support | -11.2 | -92.5 | £177m | 8.1 | 5.6 |
| Airlines Group (ICAG.L) | Aviation | -11.3 | -26.9 | £3.1bn | 0 | 10 |
| Norcros (NXR.L) | Construction Supplies | -12.2 | -19.4 | £55m | 4.3 | 12.3 |
| Bumi (BUMIP.L) | Mining | -12.6 | 0 | £1.4bn | 0 | 0 |
| ABG (ASCNOK.Lp) | Specialty Financial | -13.2 | -21.3 | n/a | 2.5 | 10.6 |
| Petropavlovsk (POG.L) | Precious Metals | -14.2 | -37.9 | £1.3bn | 2 | 108.6 |
| Aldershot Resources (ALZ.V) | Precious Metals | -14.3 | -50 | £4.7m | 0 | 0 |
| Talvivaaran (TALV.L) | Specialty Mining | -15 | -48.9 | £696m | 0 | 0 |
| Aquarius Platinum (AQP.L) | Precious Metals | -16.1 | -65 | £1bn | 1.8 | 0 |
| Essar Energy (ESSR.L) | Oil & Gas Refining | -17.1 | -79.2 | £1.5bn | 0 | 0 |
| Supergroup (SGP.L) | Apparel & Accessories | -17.5 | -66.2 | £429m | 0 | 12 |
| FCUK (FCCN.L) | Apparel & Accessories | -19.6 | -63.3 | £44.6m | 3.9 | 4 |
| Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC.L) | Integrated Telecoms | -22 | -27.7 | £868m | 15.8 | 8.7 |
| Anglesey Mining (AYM.L) | Steel | -23.3 | -71.2 | £37m | 0 | 2.3 |
| MWB Group (MWB.L) | Hotels | -23.5 | -76.8 | £15m | 0 | 0 |
| HomeServe (HSV.L) | Personal Services | -24.4 | -51.3 | £724m | 5.3 | 9.6 |
| Allied Gold (ALDG.L) | Mining | -24.9 | -61.8 | £223m | 0 | 6 |
| Yell Group (YELL.L) | Publishing | -25.7 | -33.4 | £107m | 1.083 | 1.4 |
Source: Thomson Reuters
Click on the share tickers to see fact sheets on the stocks
Shares in Homeserve (HSV.L) dropped 24% after the home repair and insurance company warned that its review of telesales practices had hit the business harder than expected, prompting a downgrade to ‘sell’ by Espirito Santo.
French Connection (FCCN.L) shares floundered after the fashion group posted its second profit warning in three months after a dire Christmas.
Shares in Essar Energy (ESSR.L), the India-focused refiner and power generator, closed the month down 17% after full-year earnings fell 10%.
The stock, which only came to market in 2010, is down 80% over a year, the second worst performer on in our tables after Thomas Cook.
Hotel operator MWB Group (MWB.L) fell 23.5% in February as the owner of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin took actions to reduce its debts and a difficult trading environment.
More about this:
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Look up the shares
- Thomas Cook Group PLC (TCG.L)
- Cable and Wireless Worldwide PLC (CWP.L)
- Ophir Energy PLC (OPHR.L)
- RSM Tenon Group PLC (TNO.L)
- Enterprise Inns PLC (ETI.L)
- Promethean World PLC (PRWP.L)
- Bodycote PLC (BOY.L)
- Genus PLC (GENS.L)
- Xchanging PLC (XCH.L)
- Lavendon Group PLC (LVD.L)
- Brammer PLC (BRAM.L)
- Barratt Developments Plc (BDEV.L)
- SVG Capital PLC (SVI.L)
- International Personal Finance PLC (IPF.L)
- Oxford Instruments PLC (OXIG.L)
- Persimmon PLC (PSN.L)
- Creston PLC (CRCRE.L)
- Spirent Communications plc (SPT.L)
- Town Centre Securities PLC (TCSC.L)
- ST Modwen Properties PLC (SMP.L)
- Kazakhmys PLC (KAZ.L)
- Mecom Group PLC (MEC.L)
- CPPGroup PLC (CPPG.L)
- International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (ICAG.L)
- Norcros PLC (NXR.L)
- Bumi PLC (BUMIP.L)
- ABG Sundal Collier Holding ASA (ASCNOK.Lp)
- Petropavlovsk PLC (POG.L)
- Talvivaaran Kaivososakeyhtio Oyj (TALV.L)
- Aquarius Platinum Ltd (AQP.L)
- Essar Energy PLC (ESSR.L)
- Supergroup PLC (SGP.L)
- French Connection Group PLC (FCCN.L)
- Cable & Wireless Communications PLC (CWC.L)
- Anglesey Mining PLC (AYM.L)
- MWB Group Holdings PLC (MWB.L)
- HomeServe plc (HSV.L)
- Allied Gold Mining PLC (ALDG.L)
- Yell Group PLC (YELL.L)
1 comment so far. Why not have your say?
Michael Peters Fenwicks
Mar 06, 2012 at 17:39
With Thomas Cook am afraid to say something had to give - only concentrate most profitable bits of the business even it means getting out of emerging markets.
Many of us did see this reasoning when the instrument was getting bruised. Not a bad way of finishing the day!!!!!
Happy trading everyone.
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