Talc business sold for $121 million New $50 million share buyback Full-year forecasts confirmed Investors in specialty chemicals firm Elementis (ELM) were celebrating a double helping of good news on Monday as the firm announced the sale of its talc business and $50 million (£37 million) share buyback with part of the proceeds. The shares jumped as much as 21p or 16% to 151p in early trading,...

Compass director buys £60,929 sharesElementis CEO sells £523,653 sharesBaron Oil director buys amid falling share priceArlene Isaacs-Lowe, non-executive director of food service giant Compass Group (CPG) has bought 2,800 shares at £21.76 for a total value of £60,929 on 30 May.Isaacs-Lowe's move comes after the company delivered strong first half growth in all regions driven by new...

Gatemore has over 4 million shares in ElementisShares up nearly 2% to 139p in morning tradingShareholders keen to unlock valueShareholders in Elementis (ELM) once again expressed dissatisfaction with the specialty chemicals company by writing an open letter to the board calling for change which is ?long overdue.?Liad Meidar, managing partner at Gatemore Capital Management - Gatemore Special...

Shares in specialty chemicals maker Elementis (ELM) surged 12% to 139p at the end of January following a press report it had received a bid from a US private equity fund.The shares eventually hit a new 12-month high of 142.4p after it was revealed New York based firm KPS Capital Partners had submitted an offer of 160p per share in December.However, the Elementis board rejected the offer as it...

Earnings seen slightly above consensusCompany sticking to its business planUnhappy shareholders demanding a saleIn a brief trading update covering the final three months of 2023 and its full financial year, specialty chemicals firm Elementis (ELM) said results were ?slightly? ahead of expectations and it was sticking to the plan it outlined at its Capital Markets Day last November.The shares,...

Franklin Mutual Advisers' clients hold 9.8% stakeOdyssean Capital holds 3.5% stakeElementis board says sale not in shareholder interestShares in Elementis (ELM) were down nearly 2% to 121p in morning trading as another unhappy shareholder Odyssean Capital called for the specialist chemicals company to be put up for sale.Today's share price fall is in stark contrast to yesterday (20 September)...

Stocks in London closed higher on Wednesday, as UK consumer price index inflation cooled by more than expected in August.The mood was also optimistic ahead of interest rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.The FTSE 100 index closed up 71.45 points, 0.9%, at 7,731.65. The FTSE 250 ended up 285.67 points, 1.6%, at 18,712.37, and AIM All-Share closed up 4.29 points,...

NAV (net asset value) up by 18.5%Outperforms company's benchmark return of 15%Increases interim dividend of 5.5p by 10%Schroder UK Mid Cap's (SCP) net asset value for the six months ending 31 March rose by 18.5%, 'comfortably' outperforming the company's benchmark, the FTSE 250 ex Investment Trusts Index, which returned 15% over the same period.The company attributed the rise to successful...

- Chromium sale has helped to reposition the company- Plans to reinstate the dividend- Personal Care division profits beat analyst expectationsThe market was unmoved despite newly-streamlined Elementis (ELM) announcing plans to reintroduce dividends later this year.The dividend news came as the FTSE 250 specialty chemicals company reported its first set of full-year results after the sale of...

Shares in chemicals company Elementis (ELM), edged 0.8% higher to 118p, following press reports that the group is exploring the sale of its chromium activities.It has also been reported that management is in active discussions with potential acquirers of the business.Elementis supplies a range of chromium chemicals that are used across a broad range of industrial applications to make products...

Major UK shares are under heavy selling pressure in early trading on Tuesday as traders dial down recent optimism, with shares of consumer firms and precious metals' miners leading the decline, while improving employment conditions in the UK and rising US Treasury yields signalled growing bets of tighter monetary policies.At 9.20am, the benchmark FTSE 100 is down 0.8% at 7,549.57 after the...

Amid several instances of directors selling big chunks of shares in the last week there were also some notable purchases.The wife of the chief executive of life insurance firm Phoenix (PHNX) snapped up nearly £400,000 worth of shares on 6 September. Suzanne Briggs, married to Andrew Briggs who took the helm in February 2020, bought 63,398 shares at 631p.BUYING ON STRONG RESULTSThe purchase...

ELEMENTIS (ELM) 157.3pGain to date: 24.9%Original entry point: Buy at 125.9p, 18 February 2021Our positive call on Elementis (ELM) is 25% in the money and we are encouraged by newly appointed non-executive chairman John O'Higgins' purchase (2 Sep) of £100,996 worth of shares in the FTSE 250 chemicals firm at around 154p each.As outlined in our original buy thesis in February, Elementis has...

Constituents of the UK chemicals sector span both a wide range of market capitalisations and end markets.These include aerospace, automotive, coatings, semiconductors, sports and leisure and the global flavour and fragrance industries. The largest company in the UK chemicals sector, Croda (CRDA) has a market capitalization of £12.6 billion, this contrasts with AIM-quoted Biome Technologies...

UK stocks represent a 'once in a generation' opportunity for investors, say fund managers. After years dogged by political and economic uncertainty, and soggy stock market performance, this is a welcome change of mood music.'UK equities are on a 30 year low versus peers, and we see this as a once in a generation opportunity to get involved in some fantastic businesses,' said Rory Bateman,...

ODYSSEAN INVESTMENT TRUST (OIT) 162.6pGain to date: 66.7%Original entry point: Buy at 97.5p, 10 September 2020Our 'buy' call on Odyssean Investment Trust (OIT) is now 66.7% in the money, with the shares responding positively to the fund's strong performance and a string of takeover bids.For the uninitiated, Odyssean is a concentrated portfolio of smaller companies whose managers Stuart...

London's FTSE 100 fell 2.1% to 6,855.4 points on Thursday following a sell-off in the US overnight as well as a tough session in Asia.Across the pond, the Dow Jones index closed nearly 2% lower to post its worst performance since January after a surge in inflation in April spooked markets.UK investors offloaded shares in oil producers and miners, perhaps taking profit in areas that have done...

Elementis (ELM) 137pGain to date: 8.8%Original entry point: Buy at 125.9p, 18 February 2021Reports that chemicals group Elementis (ELM) had been the subject of a takeover deal that could value it at over 200p per share proved unfounded.Late on 20 April its US-listed rival Innospec revealed it had made a cash and shares bid of 160p but that this offer had been rebuffed and a deal was no longer...

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...

UK stocks continued to slide on Tuesday following some mixed company updates and modest profit-taking after the big gains of last week, with weakness also reflecting the pound's continued rise on UK recovery hopes and share price declines for London's two tobacco firms.By midday, the FTSE 100 was down 1.1% at 6,923.5 points while the FTSE 250 was off 0.7% at 22,339.TOBACCO STOCKS TUMBLEShares...