BT-A.L - BT Group plc
| Previous close | 118.75 |
| Open | 117.50 |
| Bid | 115.00 x 0 |
| Ask | 120.00 x 0 |
| Day's range | 116.00 - 119.40 |
| 52-week range | 98.39 - 212.25 |
| Volume | 69,466,715 |
| Avg. volume | 40,888,619 |
| Market cap | 11.49B |
| Beta (5Y monthly) | 0.70 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 6.68 |
| EPS (TTM) | 17.40 |
| Earnings date | N/A |
| Forward dividend & yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-dividend date | 24 Dec 2019 |
| 1y target est | 284.59 |
- Stockopedia
Can Bt ride out the economic uncertainty?
Quality and value are two of the most powerful drivers of stock market profits. After the economic turmoil and market volatility we've seen in 2020, it's possi...
- Reuters
BT says Openreach sale report 'inaccurate' - internal message
Britain's BT <BT.L> said a report in the Financial Times that it was in talks about selling a stake in its networks business Openreach was "inaccurate". "Many of you will have seen the reports overnight about BT being in talks to sell a stake in Openreach," Openreach CEO Clive Selley said in a message to staff.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Angling Direct: Living the bream
You can share your thoughts Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo (stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan. While many European investors look in envy at the Nasdaq's positive 2020 performance, it does pay to bottom fish in one's small cap backyard pond! Shares in the UK fishing tackle retailer Angling Direct have staged an impressive comeback and surged over 170% since their April 6 lows.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Opss! That was Huawei wasn't it?
You can share your thoughts Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo (stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan. There was further nervousness with another report that China could activate the so-called "Unreliable Entity List" if the U.S. blocked further tech supply to Huawei. One area where investors are focusing on a possible recovery is capital goods and industrial engineering: Q1 results were slightly better than expected and guidelines for 2020 and 2021 were confirmed after a slew of downgrades in early April.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-A couple of bargains in capital goods
You can share your thoughts Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo (stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan. One area where investors are focusing on a possible recovery is capital goods and industrial engineering: Q1 results were slightly better than expected and guidelines for 2020 and 2021 were confirmed after a slew of downgrades in early April.
- Yahoo Finance UK
What to watch: BT considers Openreach sale, Royal Mail boss departs, stocks rise
A daily overview of the top business, market, and economic stories to watch in the UK, Europe, and abroad.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Bleak macro data for Germany, but mobility shines
You can share your thoughts Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo (stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan. The worst GDP contraction since 2009 was not a surprise for financial markets and even if the next quarter could be even bleaker, Germany might overcome the coronavirus crisis better and before other European countries. Q1 data showed the construction sector and government consumption were the only growth drivers.
- Bloomberg
Is BT About to Join the $24 Billion Network Bonanza?
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- For BT Group Plc, two things have long been sacrosanct: the dividend and ownership of its lucrative network. In 2020, it seems, the temple walls are being torn down.Over the past few years, carriers across Europe have looked at the vast sums needed to upgrade their fiber-optic connections and roll out fifth-generation wireless networks, and then at the lofty valuations put on existing network assets. One by one, they’ve decided to raise money from the latter to fund the former. It was a puzzle why Britain’s former national telecoms operator continued to be a holdout.On Thursday, the Financial Times reported that BT is in talks to sell a stake in broadband infrastructure division Openreach in a deal that could value it at 20 billion pounds ($24 billion) — twice BT’s market value. The report came a week after the company scrapped its dividend. If true, it would reveal just how urgently the London-based firm needs cash to fund a multibillion-pound full-fiber upgrade program, honor its pension commitments and preserve its investment-grade credit rating, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Bloxham. There’s also the 5G network to think about.There would be hurdles to a deal — not least, foreign ownership of Britain’s main fixed network. The FT named Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd. and an unidentified sovereign wealth fund as the potential investors. What's more, Jansen bought 2 million pounds of shares this week — if a deal really were in the works, it's unlikely that BT's compliance team would have permitted such a trade.BT Chief Executive Officer Philip Jansen has already been making a lot of the right moves to get in shape for the challenges ahead. The abandoned dividend and a new cost-cutting program will bring savings of some 5 billion pounds over the next five years, while the U.K. government has pledged a further 5 billion pounds to accelerate the rollout of fiber optic networks. But it’s hard to look beyond the huge appetite for network infrastructure, and the valuations similar assets have attracted.Just last week, Liberty Global Plc’s British broadband business was valued at 9.3 times Ebitda (a measure of operating performance) in a deal to combine it with Telefonica SA’s local mobile unit. BT as a whole is valued at just 1.3 times earnings on the same basis. The operator might have acted sooner were it not for Chairman Jan du Plessis’s staunch opposition to any divestment. Shortly after announcing Jansen’s appointment as CEO in 2018, du Plessis told the Daily Telegraph that 100% ownership of the division was best for “BT, for Openreach and for our stakeholders.” Just last week, when asked about the possible separation of the unit, Jansen responded, “Not now.”But selling a minority stake in the unit looks like the right move to shore up the company’s balance sheet. The right price would help BT stomach the humble pie brought on by a reversal of strategy, and reassure investors that, yes, even after the network investments, one day, the dividend will return.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
BT Insider Buying Brings Skepticism to Deal Talks, Say Analysts
(Bloomberg) -- BT Group Plc rose as much as 10.3% in Friday trading after the Financial Times reported it’s held early stage talks to sell a multibillion pound stake in network unit Openreach. But analysts quickly said any discussions can’t be live or serious due to insider trading rules.London-based carrier’s Chief Executive Officer Philip Jansen bought 2 million pounds in shares on Wednesday. Other board members and close associates bought hundreds of thousands of shares the same day too, according to a stock market filing on Thursday, meaning they can’t hold insider trading knowledge.“We conclude that the story is false, or at the least, that talks are very early stage and that the approach is not being taken seriously,” said Berenberg analyst and BT’s former head of investor relations Carl Murdock-Smith, citing the share buying.Barclays analyst Maurice Patrick said the share purchases “imply an imminent sale is unlikely.”Read More: BT in Talks to Sell Stake in Network Unit Openreach, FT SaysJefferies analyst Jerry Dellis agreed: “We wonder how that transaction could have been authorized if BT were at the same time engaged in non-public negotiations of such a material nature, even at an early stage.”Spinning out or selling a stake in Openreach is a long-running subject of speculation, and Bloomberg reported investor interest in 2018. But BT management has repeatedly poured cold water on it. When asked about it last Thursday, Jansen said “the answer is: not now.”The unit could be valued at 20 billion pounds ($24 billion) and Macquarie Group Ltd and an unnamed sovereign wealth fund are potential buyers, the FT said, citing people close to the discussions. Both BT and Macquarie declined to comment. BT’s shares yesterday sank below 1 pound per share, hitting 11-year lows.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
BT in talks to sell multi-billion pound stake in Openreach - FT
BT Group Plc <BT.L> is in talks to sell a multi-billion pound stake in its wholly owned network subsidiary Openreach to infrastructure investors to help fund an ambitious expansion in fibre broadband, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The FT said potential investors, including Australian investment firm Macquarie Group Ltd <MQG.AX> and a sovereign wealth fund, had held talks in the last three weeks with the former telecoms monopoly. Macquarie, however, was not interested in a deal, a source close to the investment firm told Reuters.
- Yahoo Finance UK
Misery for investors as FTSE giants cut dividends by almost £24bn
Stats provided by broker AJ Bell show that since the start of the outbreak there have been 42 cuts by FTSE 100 companies totalling £23.8bn.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Norges Bank unlikely to join the sub-zero club
You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@thomsonreuters.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo (stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan. The BoE is not the only central bank which seems reluctant to join the sub-zero club!
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Money market investors, don't forget to look at stocks!
You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@thomsonreuters.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo (stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan. Money market funds skyrocketed recently, even more than during the financial crisis, but sitting on cash might not be the best strategy, despite many unresolved coronavirus risks. There is a lot of uncertainty around: Investors worry about Donald Trump's rhetoric on the pandemic, which is putting further selling pressure on stocks.
- Reuters - UK Focus
MORNING BID-Turkey, trade tensions, terrible data
The views expressed are his own.) Stronger than-expected Chinese export numbers might boost speculation that the Asian giant's economy can recover quickly and come to the aid of global growth. Another warning on the world economic outlook came from the Bank of England which said the coronavirus crisis could cause the biggest economic slump in 300 years. Markets are also wary of developments in Turkey where the lira has fallen to a record low of 7.25 against the U.S. dollar.
- Bloomberg
BT Scraps Dividends to Support Fiber Rollout Through Virus
(Bloomberg) -- BT Group Plc scrapped dividends for two years after the coronavirus dashed hopes of a return to growth next year and it set aside more cash to accelerate a national fiber network rollout. Its shares tumbled as much as 12%.The London-based carrier said it was suspending the final dividend for the latest financial year and wouldn’t make any payout for the following year, as it announced full-year results on Thursday. Dividends will be half their previous level when they resume, it said.BT stepped up its fiber build-out target and said it was starting the next phase of a transformation program that would reap annualised gross benefits of 2 billion pounds by March 2025 at a one-off cost of 1.3 billion poundsKey InsightsWhile some form of dividend cut was widely expected, the scale of the pullback is likely to dismay British institutional shareholders who rely on the income from their BT holdings. Yet it helps Chief Executive Officer Philip Jansen deal with challenges on multiple fronts, including a stepped-up push into optic fiber.The former monopoly has a heavy pension plan deficit. The coronavirus pandemic is forcing enterprise clients to cut spending, TV sport subscribers are deferring payments due to canceled matches and consumers are cancelling smartphone upgrades. That’s offset the upside for BT from a surge in broadband traffic from home working and learning.BT now faces supercharged competition after its foremost fixed-line network rival Liberty Global Plc agreed Thursday to combine its Virgin Media unit with Telefonica SA’s wireless carrier O2, challenging BT’s dominance of Britain’s phone industry.BT set a new target to build full-fiber connections to 20 million premises by the mid- to late-2020s, “on the assumption we obtain the required critical enablers.”Market ReactionBT shares were down 7.5% in early trading in London. The stock already fell 49% in the year to Wednesday, versus a 19% fall in the U.K. FTSE-100 and an 18% drop in the Stoxx 600 Telecommunications IndexOf analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, 13 rate the stock a Buy, 7 a Hold, and 3 a SellMoody’s downgraded BT’s Baa2 outlook to negative in FebruaryGet MoreStatementFull-year results were largely in line with expectations. The results reflect only one week of the full U.K. lockdown, which started March 23.May. 1: Deutsche Telekom CEO Hoettges Leaves BT’s Board in ReshuffleApr. 6: BT Says No Employee Will Lose Job From Coronavirus DisruptionMar. 10: BT’s Dividend Is in Doubt as Market Rout Widens Pension Gap(Adds share price drop in first paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Stockopedia
Is the BT share price too low?
Good shares at cheap prices are what the very best investors look for. At this time of economic turmoil and market volatility, could BT (LON:BT.A) be one of th8230;
- Bloomberg
Liberty, Telefonica in Talks to Build $30 Billion U.K. Arm
(Bloomberg) -- Telefonica SA and John Malone’s Liberty Global Plc have never been closer to finally creating the U.K.’s biggest telecom operator after flirting with various combinations over the years.Racing for a potential announcement as early as this week, talks hinge in part on striking equal control for the merger of O2 and Virgin Media, while structuring a deal that’ll help the Spanish giant pay down its huge debt pile, according to people familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.In a statement Monday, Telefonica confirmed that talks are ongoing “on a potential integration of their respective telecommunications businesses in the United Kingdom” and there is no guarantee that an agreement can be reached.Liberty Global’s New York A-class shares surged 15% on Friday after Bloomberg revealed the talks, the biggest jump since 2009, and were up 6% in premarket trading Monday to $23.62. Telefonica shares rose 4.2% at 2:41 p.m. Madrid time Monday, while rival BT Group Plc rose 1.1%, rebounding from a drop earlier in the day.Clinching a deal this month amid a collapse in global deal-making would be no small feat. A combination of O2 and Virgin Media could create a business with an estimated enterprise value of about $30 billion, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which could make it the largest deal struck since the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic.Telefonica may seek a payment from Liberty Global of between 6.2 billion euros ($6.8 billion) and 8.5 billion euros, an amount which may keep its leverage ratio from climbing from pre-deal levels, Deutsche Bank analysts Keval Khiroya and Robert Grindle said in a note to clients. They see 6 billion pounds ($7.5 billion) of synergies, and value O2 at 11 billion pounds and Virgin Media at 16 billion pounds.Telefonica, currently trading at close to a 25-year-low, is demanding the two companies have equal voting rights in the new venture, one of the people said. Executives and advisers must reconcile that with Telefonica’s need to pay down 38 billion euros of debt, which means it’s unlikely to put cash into the deal, said analysts at New Street Research.Liberty is likely to make a significant cash payment to Telefonica as part of the transaction, two of the people said.Although the talks are advanced, executives on both sides are being cautious following recent strategic upsets, the people said. Telefonica’s plan to sell its U.K. business to CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. was blocked by regulators in May 2016. It then started working on plans for an initial public offering of O2, but they were shelved by Brexit and the subsequent market turmoil. The company never said officially that it was scrapping the IPO plans.Liberty Global declined to comment.New RivalsLiberty Global Chief Executive Officer Mike Fries said in September that buying a U.K. mobile operator would bring hundreds of millions of dollars in synergies. Extra cash would flow from combining infrastructure and back-office savings, and eliminating the need to pay for access to networks they don’t own.Previous joint ventures have cut costs such as Liberty Global’s 2016 deal with Vodafone Group Plc in the Netherlands. As of February that partnership was yielding 85% of a planned 210 million euros in synergies, a year ahead of schedule.The combined entities would take 34% of Britain’s telecom service revenues between them, eclipsing the current No. 1 operator BT Group Plc, according to research from Goldman Sachs published Friday. If successful, the new venture would be BT’s only rival that owns both fixed-line and mobile services.BT’s leading position in the U.K. communications market would be threatened by a merger of rivals O2 and Virgin Media, we believe. A second, scaled fixed-mobile carrier would pressure BT’s consumer-broadband and enterprise-mobile market share, and boost investment in alternative full-fiber infrastructure to rival Openreach’s own expansion plans.\-- Matthew Bloxham, BI telecom analystVodafone and Liberty Global’s close relationship -- solidified by their Dutch joint venture -- has previously fueled speculation that the two groups could do a U.K. deal. Vodafone recently won BT’s contract to wholesale mobile services to Liberty’s U.K. customers, a deal which would have to be re-examined if Virgin merged with O2.“Vodafone would be the big potential loser” from a Virgin-O2 match-up, said New Street analyst James Ratzer in a note Friday, adding they would miss out on the synergies and also lose wholesale payments from Virgin.Musical ChairsMatchmaking the U.K.’s fixed and mobile operators has been a favorite game of bankers and executives for years as Britain lagged neighbors in a global telecommunication trend of “convergence,” which has seen companies meld cable and radio networks together. A wave of investors are being drawn to the infrastructure-like returns of fiber optics. Startups are also building U.K. fiber and consolidating.Executives at the leading U.K. telecom companies have regularly spoken about potential combinations, with advisers pitching Virgin Media as a partner to both Vodafone and Comcast Corp.’s Sky unit, in addition to Telefonica, people familiar with the talks said.Liberty’s investors have been waiting to learn what the company plans to do with what remains of $11 billion in proceeds from selling its Germany and eastern European operations. In November, Liberty’s Chief Financial Officer Charlie Bracken said the company is looking at the merits of listing local units to unlock more value, as the company’s stock price has wilted.While Telefonica has never publicly said it wanted to move into the U.K.’s fixed market, it has always advocated for consolidation in its markets, and internally the company has been open to considering options for the U.K. O2 was born as a joint venture controlled by BT called ‘Cellnet’, before it was bought by Telefonica in 2006 for 18 billion pounds. BT looked at buying O2 in 2014 but opted instead to buy EE, the joint venture built by Deutsche Telekom AG and Orange SA.For Telefonica, a U.K. merger would advance a sweeping strategy change announced in November. It’s focusing on four core markets of Spain, Brazil, the U.K. and Germany and considering all options for the rest of its Latin American units. It also announced the creation of new tech and infrastructure units. It’s looking for ways to accelerate growth in those core markets and the latter new divisions through partnerships and deals.(Updates share prices in fourth paragraph, adds analyst comment in sixth paragraph, detail on O2 history in ninth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Fool.co.uk
With the BT share price this low, should I buy?
The BT share price is trading at one of its lowest levels in the past few decades. This could mean the stock is worth buying today.The post With the BT share price this low, should I buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
- Fool.co.uk
I think it’s worth buying BT shares now
Despite fears of a dividend cut and years of struggle, BT Groups shares are worth buying if it can unlock the true value of its dominance in the UK telecommunications market.The post I think it's worth buying BT shares now appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
- Reuters - UK Focus
UK made a firm decision on Huawei in 5G - foreign ministry's top official
Britain's government made a firm decision to allow China's Huawei to have a role in building the country's 5G phone network and as far as the foreign ministry's top official understands it is not being reopened, he said on Tuesday. Britain decided in January to allow Huawei into what the government said were non-sensitive parts of its 5G network, capping its involvement at 35%.
- Fool.co.uk
BT has a high dividend yield of 12.6%. Can it be sustained?
BT’s a good income investment with a double-digit dividend yield. But with FTSE 100 companies cutting dividends, can BT be far behind?The post BT has a high dividend yield of 12.6%. Can it be sustained? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
- Fool.co.uk
Forget gold and Bitcoin! I’d invest in these 2 FTSE 100 firms to see out the stock market crash
Instead of gold or Bitcoin, Jonathan Smith explains why he is eyeing up BT Group and Hargreaves Lansdown.The post Forget gold and Bitcoin! I'd invest in these 2 FTSE 100 firms to see out the stock market crash appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
- Fool.co.uk
The BT share price is rising after the crash. Here’s what I’d do now
The BT share price is rising despite the crash. An investor discusses why they're not buying.The post The BT share price is rising after the crash. Here's what I'd do now appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Chinese stocks playing the unusual safe-haven
You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@thomsonreuters.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London. "Investors are starting to pay closer attention to Chinese equities as their valuations are attractive in comparison to the rest of the developed world on a Price to Earnings (P/E) basis," said Aneeka Gupta, director of research at WisdomTree writes in a client note.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-What if governments raise corporate taxes?
You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@thomsonreuters.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London. The global response to COVID-19 emergency is unprecedented and it is clear that governments will emerge from the crisis with meaningfully higher debt ratios. Will European governments brace for more corporare tax to cover the higher expenses, BofA asks.
