FTSE 100 movers: DCC hit by downgrade; InterContinental up on M&A spec
London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 5,986.20 in afternoon trade on Friday.
DCC was under the cosh after Barclays downgraded its stance on shares of the sales, marketing and support services company to ‘equalweight’ from ‘overweight’, slashing the price target to 6,900p from 8,100p as it said it was "struggling for upside".
The bank said M&A activity has been more subdued than it expected since the 2018 equity placing, while organic growth in recent years appears to be tracking below management's long-term guidance that around a third of profit growth is organic.
"With return on invested capital gently declining in the last few years, question marks about the future growth prospects for some divisions and a relatively unattractive ESG profile compared with other stocks in the sector, we struggle to see significant upside," Barclays said.
Precious metals miners Fresnillo and Polymetal lost their shine as gold prices fell.
On the upside, InterContinental Hotels was the standout gainer following a report in Le Figaro that France’s Accor is eyeing a merger with the London-listed hotel chain.
FTSE 100 - Risers
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,184.00p 3.82%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 775.40p 3.61%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 571.60p 2.44%
Avast (AVST) 544.00p 2.16%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,147.50p 1.55%
British Land Company (BLND) 360.40p 1.24%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 922.00p 1.10%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 192.55p 1.08%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 446.90p 0.97%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,351.00p 0.81%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
DCC (DCC) 6,602.00p -2.42%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,490.00p -2.23%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,220.00p -2.01%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 98.00p -2.00%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,932.50p -1.73%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,021.00p -1.70%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,672.00p -1.55%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,349.00p -1.51%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 264.90p -1.41%
Pearson (PSON) 572.20p -1.41%