Margin up despite dip in sales Record earnings per share Five-year margin target raised Electronic component-maker discoverIE Group (DSCV) surprised analysts and investors in a good way with a strong set of results for the year to March and an increase in its medium-term margin guidance. The shares gained as much as 82p or 13% to a three-month high of 715p, taking them to the top of the FTSE...

Now the ballots have been cast at the general election, the UK could become the 'reassuringly boring' market, both politically and fiscally, when compared to the more extreme politics on the other side of the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean.So suggests Jean Roche, manager of the Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund (SCP), who notes capital allocators know more or less what to expect, which could...

For the second part of our annual survey, we asked fund managers if they had changed their view on any stocks this year, for better or for worse, and what lay behind their decisions.As with the winners and losers survey last week, the answers were often frank and once again we would like to thank everyone who took part.Thomas Moore - Aberdeen Equity Income Trust (AEI)THE STOCK THAT I CHANGED...

A wall of money is going into building out the green infrastructure required to facilitate the global energy transition. This starts with electrifying power generation all the way through to transmitting and storing this energy before it is eventually consumed.At the same time, indebted governments are increasingly looking to private companies to help solve the global water challenge.Water is...

DiscoverIE (DSCV) 930pGain to date: 26.9%We flagged the appeal of electronics engineer DiscoverIE (DSCV) in August 2022 at 733p, arguing the company was not being given credit for its inherent qualities and its growth potential.WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE WE SAID TO BUY?We have been proved right in spades. The market has reacted positively to good news from the company which culminated in a robust...

A company is clearly doing something right when financial guidance and market forecasts are consistently going up in this environment. Yet shares in electronics engineer DiscoverIE (DSCV) have lost more than 30% this year and are nearly 42% down on their £12.62 highs of September 2021.This is a great time to buy the shares for the medium to longer-term, we believe, with analysts...

UK stocks opened higher on Thursday, led by mining companies as commodities prices, notably copper, continued to advance, with Anglo American (AAL), Glencore (GLEN), Antofagasta (ANTO) and Rio Tinto (RIO) all catching a bid early on.By 9 am, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.65% higher at 7,188.22 points, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.7% at 22,793.72.Brent Crude pushed ahead 0.8% to $83.85 per barrel,...

UK stocks made modest gains into the early afternoon session with the FTSE 100 index of leading shares registering a 0.2% gain at midday to 7,178 points.The midcap FTSE 250 index saw similar gains of 0.2% to 24,264 points.Markets are eagerly awaiting the August US non-farm payrolls data due to be released at 1.30pm London time. The rate of job creation is seen as a key input into the central...

Electronics engineer DiscoverIE (DSCV) has ploughed £77 million on acquisitions in the US and UK as it continues to expand its presence in the customised electronic components industry.US firm Logic PD, better known as Beacon, makes embedded computing boards and is being acquired for $80.5 million (£58.8 million) cash.It had sales of $28.1 million in 2020 and an underlying profit of $6.8...

DiscoverIE Group (DSCV) 854pGain to date: 42%Original entry point: Buy at 600p, 10 December 2020Shares in specialist electronics maker DiscoverIE (DCSV) continue to power ahead following an increase in earnings guidance in April and a positive pre-close trading update at the start of this month.Thanks to the firm's focus on specific markets, sales for the full year were down just 3% as orders...

DiscoverIE (DSCV) 797pGain to date: 32.8%Original entry point: Buy at 600p, 10 December 2020Electronics engineer DiscoverIE (DSCV) is riding high after its latest trading update drove material upgrades to analysts' earnings forecasts.The company designs and manufactures bespoke kit for highly regulated industries including healthcare, renewables, transport and aerospace.On 20 April the company...

London's FTSE 100 finished Tuesday's session down 2% at 6,859.87 as stronger sterling and resurgent concerns about the course of the global Covid-19 pandemic weighed on investor sentiment, while tobacco stocks remained weak amid reports of US regulatory pressure. On Wall Street the S&P 500 was down 0.9% at 4,128.07 by 4.30pm UK time.TOBACCO STOCKS TUMBLEShares in British American Tobacco...

Electronics engineer DiscoverIE (DSCV) has been on quite a journey in recent years, pulling itself up the supplier value chain by executing a clear strategy.This ambitious adventure is far from over. We believe the company's success will soon lead to its share price trading beyond 750p for the first time in 20 years.We have followed the DiscoverIE growth story for quite some time and flagged...

UK blue chip stocks have taken direction from Wall Street and ended the week at a nine-month high as US stocks hit new records, following a weak jobs report which is expected to put pressure on US policymakers to greenlight a stimulus package.The US economy, which is the world's largest, added just 245,000 jobs - less than half the 500,000 jobs analysts had been expecting - in November as the...

The FTSE 100 has continued to climb throughout trading on Friday with a steady flow of positive news boosting investor sentiment.Reuters reports that a Brexit trade deal could be 'imminent' with an agreement expected by the end of the weekend barring any last minute breakdown in talks, while construction industry data released earlier today also provided optimism having beat all forecasts,...

The UK's FTSE 100 hit a nine-month high on Friday as a jump in oil prices boosted energy stocks and mild optimism over Brexit talks lifted the mood as the deadline closes in. This offset the drag following news that US drugs giant Pfizer has had to slash its roll-out target of its Covid-19 vaccine.The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 0.7% in early trade at 6,534.52 with oil majors Royal Dutch Shell...

As the UK continues to step lightly through the coronavirus pandemic's social distancing minefield, many investors have turned their back on the small cap space. This is a mistake.We can understand why small caps might not appeal to everyone at the moment, given this space can include unproven business models and fragile balance sheets. It can also be harder to sell small cap shares when you...

DISCOVERIE (DSCV) 445pGain to date: 9.6%Original entry point: Buy at 406p, 14 February 2019For electronics engineer DiscoverIE (DSCV) to put up half year revenue growth of 9%, 5% organically, is pretty good going given the prevailing economic uncertainty (10 Oct).That the order book increased 15% (11% organically) to £153m is further evidence of the company's success in implementing its...

DISCOVERIE (DSCV) 434pGain to date: 6.9%Original entry point: Buy at 406p, 14 February 2019Enhanced growth prospects and reduced debt is how one analyst describes the latest situation for electronics engineer DiscoverIE (DSCV).Last week the company forked out £15.9m on a pair of custom design engineering businesses - Hobart Electronics and Positek - with manufacturing in the US and Mexico.The...

Many retail investors avoid small cap companies as there is a perception that the space is littered with too many inexperienced management teams, unproven business models and threadbare balance sheets.Then there's the extra volatility and difficulties in even buying and selling these types of shares.This is perhaps why tapping into the expert help of a specialist fund manager is often seen as...