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...

Specialty recruitment firm SThree (STEM), which focuses on filling roles in science, technology, engineering and mathematics settings, posted a downbeat trading statement for the 12 months to November and drastically cut its forecast for earnings for the current year.The shares, which were previously down just 11% for the year, slumped as much as 39% intraday before recovering and now stand...

Contract fee income stallsNo signs of improvementFY25 pre-tax forecast slashedSpecialist recruitment firm SThree (STEM) posted a downbeat full-year trading update and warned challenging trading conditions would persist through the current financial year.The shares dropped as much as 140p or 39% to 221p before recovering to stand down 88p or 24% at 273p by mid-morning. SUBSTANTIAL CUT TO...

Stock prices in Europe were in the green on Thursday morning, in anticipation of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank enacted a chunkier than expected rate cut on Thursday.The FTSE 100 index traded up 15.34 points, 0.2%, at 8,316.96. The FTSE 250 was down just 5.35 points at 20,968.10, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.16 points, 0.3%, at 739.70.The...

Bunzl raises profit target againCapita and Serco orders growDriver the day?s star turnOn a good day for markets in general, UK business services firms were feeling the love after posting positive trading updates.Half a dozen firms, from FTSE 100 distributor Bunzl (BNZL) to FTSE 250 outsourcer Serco (SRP) and staffing firm SThree (STEM) all the way down to tiddlers Capita (CPI), Driver (DRV)...

Trustpilot chair snaps up 150,000 sharesBarclays finance director sells stockBuying by SThree CEO boosts confidenceZillah Byng-Thorne, chair of the board at Trustpilot (TRST), bought 150,000 shares in the online reviews and analytics platform at 93p, for a total value of £138,900, on 19 September 2023.Byng-Thorne dipped into the market on the day Trustpilot reported an impressive set of first...

- Strong demand for specialist staff- Third increase in full year guidance- Shares still down nearly 25% this yearSpecialist recruitment firm SThree (STEM) posted a strong third quarter trading update and raised its earnings outlook to at least 7% above the current consensus.The shares added 4.5% to 365p, although that still leaves them trading almost 25% lower than at the start of the...

- Like-for-like growth 'a significant achievement'- Contract staffing provides 'good visibility into second half'- Full year earnings seen beating market expectationsSpecialist recruitment firm SThree (STEM) posted a surprisingly sharp increase in first half net fee income and raised its full year earnings guidance, sending its shares up 8.6% to 346p in early trading.The technology-focused...

Specialist recruitment firm SThree (STEM) posted a 111% increase in pre-tax profits to £60 million for the year to November on a constant currency basis thanks to record demand for staff in its key areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.The group also said current trading was ahead of expectations meaning current year net fees and profits would rise by double digits,...

UK investors were in 'wait and see' mode ahead of a huge week for markets, with central banks in the UK, Europe, Japan and the US set to guide on the future path of interest rates.On Wednesday the US Federal Reserve is expected to announce it will accelerate 'tapering' or reducing its support for financial markets and to issue guidance on when it will raise rates, while on Thursday the Bank of...

London's FTSE 100 finished Monday's session 0.56% higher at 7,068.43 points as a risk appetite rebound took oil prices higher and drove demand for index heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP.), shares in both improving by more than 2% to £14.57 and 302.3p respectively.Amid the FTSE 250 ranks, low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) fell 14% to 586.4p on a UBS downgrade, having announced a...

Reports that the Post Office has inked a deal to deliver for Amazon helped push Royal Mail (RMG) to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard on Monday.By midday, the blue chip benchmark was up 0.8% at 7,086.07 points.Amid the FTSE 250 ranks, low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) fell 14% to 587p on a UBS downgrade, having announced a £1.2 billion rights issue last week.MARKET NEWSShares in specialist...

Specialist recruiter SThree (STEM) advanced 6.7% to 585.7p as it upgraded its annual profit forecast after a strong third quarter showing.The update offers further proof that the services of staffing agencies are in demand as businesses struggle to find skilled staff to fill vacant roles.SThree focuses on providing staff with science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills. Last month...

UK stocks recovered from Friday's losses in early trading, despite weakness in US markets at the end of last week and a fall in Asian equity markets.All three major US indices fell on Friday after a court ruling was seen as negative for heavyweight tech stock Apple. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite indices were pulled lower by concerns of greater Chinese regulation of tech...

Investors seeking a high conviction fund with a track record of attractive total returns should buy Schroder Income Growth Fund (SCF), a portfolio geared into the post-pandemic and UK domestic recovery.Managed by Schroders' head of UK equities Sue Noffke for a decade, the £222 million cap puts money to work with out-of-favour companies with potential to generate strong future returns and...

UK stocks fell sharply on Monday as rising virus cases took the shine off so called 'Freedom Day', with travel and leisure stocks reversing Friday's gains.Weaker oil prices saw oil giants BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) falling 2% and 1,7% respectively.Brent Crude prices fell 1.5% to $72.5 per barrel and Gold fell 0.3% to $1,806 per ounce.Asian stocks were weak overnight with Japan's...

UK stocks opened sharply lower on Monday as rising virus cases took the shine off so called 'Freedom Day', with travel and leisure stocks reversing Friday's gains.Weaker oil prices saw oil giants BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) falling 2% and 1,7% respectively.Brent Crude prices fell 1.5% to $72.5 per barrel and Gold fell 0.3% to $1,806 per ounce.Asian stocks were weak overnight with...

Shares in specialist staffing firm SThree (STEM) leapt 8% to a new all-time high of 458p after the company posted an unscheduled trading update to flag to the market that its first half pre-tax profits would be 'materially above market consensus'.The firm, which specializes in recruiting staff for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) roles, said trading in the second quarter...

Since the first successful vaccines were announced in November 2020 value shares have made a huge comeback after many years in the wilderness.You may have wondered why value shares have continued to perform well this year on expectations of rising interest rates. In this article we explain how rising rates impact value and growth shares using a concept that is more often used in the bond...

London's FTSE 100 opened stronger on Monday as Covid-19 vaccine rollout efforts continued to gather momentum in the UK and in major economies such as the US.Investors also welcomed impressive growth figures from China and the passage of Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package in the US, which helped the blue chip benchmark 0.45% higher to 6,791.88 points early on.PROVIDENT FINANCIAL...