In the third of our four-part series on small caps (you can read part two on UK small cap funds and trusts elsewhere in this issue), we get our data-crunching caps on and take a look at key metrics around value, income and growth in the smaller companies universe.To narrow things down we limited our search to London-listed companies with market valuations between £50 million and £500...

London's FTSE opened lower on Friday morning, as data showed the UK economy shrank by 2.9% in January, weighed down by a slump in trading activity with the EU, albeit the decline was somewhat lower than the 4.9% drop many were anticipating.By 9 am, the blue chip benchmark was off 0.15% at 6,727.15 points, while the FTSE 250 was 0.35% lower at 21,459 points.Strength among banking and energy...

Engineering specialist Avingtrans (AVG:AIM) is eyeing up further acquisition opportunities as Government support schemes for businesses start to wind down.The company acts somewhat like a private equity business in the engineering world, looking for firms that quite often are undervalued and distressed. Its stated strategy is 'Pinpoint, Invest, Exit'.The economic fallout from the coronavirus...

WHAT'S IN THIS ARTICLE?We'll run through the reasons why stocks have fallen, compare this sell-off to previous market corrections and consider why certain companies have been affected more than others.We will also look at the stocks that have risen in value during the market turmoil and finally we choose three shares to consider buying as long as you understand that their prices could easily...

Engineering group Avingtrans (AVG:AIM) passed the £100m sales barrier and moved back into the black during a record year for the company.Revenues for the year to 31 May jumped 34% to £105.5m, up from £78.9m 12 months ago, reflecting the first full year contribution after its acquisition of electric pump and motor business Hayward Tyler.The firm also recorded a pre-tax profit of £3.1m,...

By the Shares teamInvestors are spoiled for choice when it comes to small cap stocks with exciting events. As a taster for what's to come in 2018, we've scoured the markets to look for some of the most interesting activities.Read on to discover 19 stocks either expecting big news in the very near future or ones which are in the middle of developments which could have a big impact on their...

Africa focused oil firm Heritage Oil (HOIL) soars 10.2% to 232p as it announces net production from the OML30 asset in Nigeria averaged 15,600 barrels of oil per day year to date. This represents an advance of 17% on the rate achieved in the last three months of 2013. The company also indicates tax discussions with the Nigerian authorities have successfully concluded with the benefits likely...

Nottingham-based engineer Avingtrans (AVG:AIM) offers a combination of profit growth, improved forecast quality and the scope for earnings upgrades. This should be sufficient to sustain the re-rating story previously covered in our Small Caps section (Small Caps, Shares, 30 May, 3 Oct).Based on consensus earnings per share (EPS) forecasts of 10p for the year to May 2014 and 12.1p for the 12...

Niche engineer Avingtrans (AVG:AIM) looks set to deliver double-digit earnings per share (EPS) growth and improved quality of earnings as it benefits from increased exposure to a buoyant civil aerospace sector.Consensus forecasts for EPS of 10p in the 12 months to 31 May 2014 and 12.1p in the May 2015 fiscal year imply EPS growth of 43% and 20% respectively. On this basis a price/earnings...

Fashion-to-furnishings firm Laura Ashley (ALY) falls 14.3% to 22.5p on poor figures for the first half to 27 July. Blaming the impact of changeable weather on fashion and home furnishing sales, the small cap reports a £500,000 drop in taxable profits to £7.8 million on total sales down 5.6% to £137.3 million. Alarmingly, both like-for-like retail sales and e-commerce revenues went...

After being hit by profit taking in May, a trading update has revived the rally in books-to-newspaper distributor Smiths News (NWS), sending the shares up 7.5% to 167.75p as the company said it was on track to hit consensus forecasts for the year to 31 August. We're slightly surprised at the market's upbeat reaction given that its growth driver, the education supplies arm, reported a 1.5% drop...

A restructuring of niche components play Avingtrans (AVG:AIM) is expected to lead to a substantial improvement in earnings and margins. Any indication it is on course to achieve this uplift in performance in September's results (for the year to 31st May 2013) could prompt a rerating.A key point in the transformation of the group came in November 2012 with the disposal of its machine tool...

Roll up, roll up! The US online gambling revival is in full swing after New Jersey governor Chris Christie approved the activity within the state's border. The green light should help boost state revenues and revive Atlantic City casinos. The flurry of excitement sent the UK-quoted gambling stocks to the top of the FTSE leaderboard, led by Bwin.Party (BPTY) advancing 11.2% to 153.2p. This...

Do not be depressed by a cautious report on small and mid-cap companies which highlights management teams' lack of confidence in their ability to lift earnings. There are plenty of well-funded stocks capable of beating the macroeconomic gloom and driving their profits higher.Investors must seek companies with strong balance sheets, good organic growth, pricing power, high-quality products and...