Over the past six months, Imperial Brands (IMB) shares have gained nearly 30% due to a robust set of full-year results reported last November and investors piling into defensive stocks since the start of 2025. On 24 April, Imperial shares hit a five-year high of £30.63 as the multi-national tobacco company continues to shrug off the global crackdown by governments on people smoking and vaping...

One of the key attractions of investments is the potential to earn a regular income. As in common in the world of personal finance, there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach for income investing.There are diverse ways to obtain a regular stream of cash rewards from your investment ISA, so make sure you pick the right one for your needs. Here are five methods. 1. High YieldFor decades, investors...

The end of the tax year is now just a couple of weeks away so if you want to make use of any remaining ISA allowance your window to do so is rapidly closing.In this article the Shares team has put its collective heads together to identify a quintet of funds which we think are worthy of inclusion as part of a diversified portfolio. Some of these names may already be familiar but others are...

Shares in Imperial Brands (IMB) have gained nearly 30% over the past six months due to a combination of investors piling into defensive stocks amid bouts of global market volatility and a strong five-year strategic plan.The multi-national tobacco company shares recently hit a 52-week high at £27.42 (on 3 February).Analysts at Panmure Liberum are upbeat about Imperial's share price saying:...

Chemring executives sell sharesEasyJet finance head sells stockImperial chief executive lightens upThe week before Christmas was a busy one for the boards of several UK firms as they offloaded shares ahead of the holidays.At defence contractor Chemring (CHG), chief executive Michael Ord and two other directors sold a total of 274,000 shares at 315p each on 18 December raising just shy of...

In the first part of a three-part series featuring opinions and ideas from some of the UK's leading fund managers, we asked which stocks have surprised them the most over the course of the 2024 and why.While it was hard to avoid the influence of AI (artificial intelligence) on portfolios, the breadth of responses was surprising and goes to show how skilled stock-pickers can turn up gems in...

Shares in multi-national tobacco company Imperial Brands (IMB) recently hit a new five-year high (25 November) of £25.64 despite a push by governments around the world to crack down on the number of people smoking and vaping.Year-to-date the shares have gained 41% outperforming three of the 'Magnificent Seven' group of tech giants said analysts at Panmure Liberum in a recent note.So, what is...

Uptick in orders continuesTrading in line with expectationsNew CFO John Fallon namedOn the day the ONS (Office for National Statistics) announced disappointing retail sales for October as Budget uncertainty sapped spending, DFS Furniture (DFS) defied the doom and gloom with news of robust orders growth into the new financial year.The reassuring update will come as a relief to shareholders, who...

26% rise in NGP net revenue4.5% rise in full-year dividendTotal return 45% year-to-dateShares in Imperial Brands (IMB) climbed 2% to £24.48 in morning trading as the multi-national tobacco company reported a robust set of full-year results despite a big push by governments to curb the number of people smoking and vaping.The FTSE 100 company, which owns several tobacco brands including...

As tobacco firm Imperial Brands (IMB) announced its latest share buyback, there was an extraordinary, albeit logical, observation from broker Panmure Liberum.Analyst Rae Maile noted that, if it continued at its current pace, the company stood a good chance of buying back all of its shares within a decade.'Since October 2022, the company has bought back 106 million shares at an average price...

Both the tobacco and oil and gas industries face a similar quandary right now - they are generating lots of cash from activities which many perceive as being unethical and damaging, but their transitions into other areas are currently not offering anywhere near the same levels of return. This matters to anyone who has meaningful exposure to the UK market in their portfolio, say through a FTSE...

Group adjusted operating profit in line with guidanceOver the past year shares have gained 31%Share buyback of £1.25 billion announcedShares in Imperial Brands (IMB) topped the FTSE leaderboard, gaining 4% to £22.33 after the tobacco maker reported strong growth in NGP (next generation products) and announced £2.8 billion in shareholder returns.NGP net revenue is expected to grow in the...

European shares went into reverse early Tuesday, as the lack of new stimulus in China disappointed the market, while the story in London was Vistry, which slumped by a third after a profit warning.'Having persuaded a sceptical audience that it was managing the transition from mainstream to partnership housebuilder, and outperformed the sector by over 30% in the last twelve months, Vistry now...

Experian and Imperial Brands pushed the FTSE 100 to an all-time high on Wednesday morning, with London stocks up at midday ahead of this afternoon?s US consumer price reading.The FTSE 100 index was up 21.63 points, 0.3%, at 8,449.76. The FTSE 100 hit a new record of 8,474.41 earlier.The FTSE 250 was up 86.51 points, 0.4%, at 20,705.03, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.28 of a point at 790.01.The...

Tobacco prices up 8.6%Next-generation revenue up 16.8%Operating profit down 2.4%Shares in Imperial Brands (IMB) were up more than 4% to £19.53 in morning trading despite the tobacco and next-generation product maker reporting a 2.3% fall in first half revenue to £15.06 billion.Investors may have been cheered by the firm's ability to raise tobacco prices and the increase in NGP...

On track to meet guidanceShare buyback in progressNew product revenue growing Shares in Imperial Brands (IMB) were flat in morning trading at £17.33 as the tobacco and next-generation product maker said it was ?on track? to meet half year and full year guidance. GUIDANCE MAINTAINEDThe firm said strong tobacco pricing was ?supporting financial delivery?, with growth in first-half group...

NatWest share offer mulledAlcohol duty freezePlans to simplify ISAsShares in NatWest (NWG) were down slightly at 205p as the chancellor Jeremy Hunt floated the idea of a share offer.The Government still owns a 39% stake in the UK high street bank. The concern may be that shares will be offering to investors at a discount, acting as an overhang on the share price.PUBS AND BOOZE STOCKS TOAST...

12-month revenue down 0.2% year-on-yearNext generation products revenue up 26%Final dividend up 4% from 2022Imperial Brands (IMB) has reported a 26% rise in operating profit to £3.4 billion for the year ending 30 September 2023 in line with the tobacco firm's five-year strategic plan.Net revenue fell 0.2% to £32.47 billion compared to £33.55 in the same year ago period.Imperial owns several...

According to Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's highly respected colleague and co-manager of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE), 'All intelligent investing is value investing, acquiring more than you are paying for.'Or, as Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management puts it, 'It's not what you buy, it's what you pay, and success in investing doesn't come from buying good things but from buying...

FY24 buyback 10% higher than FY23Shares rebound by 3% on announcementFY24 capital return to exceed £2.4 billionShares in Imperial Brands (IMB) rallied 3% to £16.30 as the tobacco company said it was 'on track' to deliver results for the 2023 financial year in line with its guidance and announced a further £1.1 billion share buyback for the 2024 financial year.Imperial, which has an array of...