Encouragingly, the trading update showed that EKF is on-track to deliver cost savings of £6.7m from 2016 onwards and that it is putting in place the foundations for future growth. To aid this, EKF has adopted a singular focus on point-of-care and it remains focused on returning to core profitability and positive cash flow. Although EKF is expected to record a loss in the 2015 financial year, this is partly due to the expected impact of asset write downs of up to £60m.

While this is disappointing, EKF is anticipating core revenues of over £30m in 2016 and expects to have an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of between £3m and £4m this year. As such, and while it remains a relatively high risk play, which is in the midst of a major turnaround, EKF may be of interest to less risk averse investors.

Also rising today are shares in Hydrodec (LSE: HDY), with the cleantech industrial oil re-refining company posting gains of 15% even though there’s no significant news . Despite this rise, Hydrodec is still down by 59% in the last year, a key reason for this being the falling oil price during the period. As a result of this, Hydrodec last week confirmed the disposal of its UK collections business and UK lubricant oil re-refining, with it retaining an economic interest in the latter through a potential profit share.

The deal seems to be a sound one for Hydrodec since it reduces the downside risk to the business by its UK operations given the relatively low oil price. It also allows the company to shift its focus towards its transformer oil technology business, where it could have a competitive advantage due to its proven technology. Although the company’s shares have performed well today, there is still some way to go as it proceeds with what is an ambitious turnaround plan. However, it may be worth a closer look for less risk averse investors.

Meanwhile, Hardy Oil & Gas (LSE: HDY) has also performed well today, with its shares being up 11%. As with Hydrodec, Hardy has been hurt by a falling oil price in the last year, with its shares being down by 49% during the period.

Looking ahead, Hardy could deliver improved share price performance since it continues to have no debt on its balance sheet and a cash position of $19.3m. However, as its recent results highlighted, the company may have the potential to develop its India-based assets, but the pace of activity has been rather slower than it had hoped. And with there being a number of oil and gas plays trading on low valuations and having bright futures, it may be prudent to look elsewhere rather than buying a slice of Hardy at the present time.

The post Are These 3 Small-Caps Set To Soar? EKF Diagnostics Holding PLC, Hardy Oil & Gas plc And Hydrodec Group plc appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Peter Stephens has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

For example, GlaxoSmithKline currently yields over 6% and, even though dividends are due to flat line over the next couple of years, it still means that holding shares in GlaxoSmithKline is set to deliver over 19% in income return in the space of just three years. With the outlook for the European and Chinese economies being relatively uncertain, such a return could prove to be most welcome – especially if interest rates rise at only a modest pace.

Furthermore, GlaxoSmithKline also offers excellent value for money at the present time. For example, it trades on a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of just 17.2 which, for a major pharmaceutical company that has a hugely diversified and impressive pipeline, seems to be a very reasonable price to pay. And, with GlaxoSmithKline forecast to increase its bottom line by 11% next year, investor sentiment could improve and push its share price much higher.

Of course, other stocks also hold considerable appeal and, while GlaxoSmithKline is an obvious choice, there are strong returns on offer elsewhere. For example, miniature figurine and games manufacturer Games Workshop (LSE: GAW) has seen its share price rise by over 5% yesterday after releasing impressive results for its most recent financial year.

In fact, Games Workshop delivered an increase in pretax profit, with it rising from £12m in the previous year to over £16m last year. That’s an excellent gain when you consider that a weak Euro had a negative impact on the company’s sales and, with consumer confidence in the single-currency region also coming under pressure, it was a double blow for the Warhammer games producer. Still, dividends are on the up and, at its present price of 557p, Games Workshop yields a very enticing 6.3%. Furthermore, it trades on a P/E ratio of just 13.9, which indicates that a rerating potential is on the cards.

Meanwhile, Hardy Oil & Gas (LSE: HDY) saw its share price drop by as much as 12% yesterday, with the company’s share price now having fallen by 72% during the course of the last year. Of course, this is partly due to a weaker oil price which has caused investor sentiment to weaken in the sector.

However, Hardy has arguably been affected more than many of its peers as a result of its bottom line being in the red, with it posting a pretax loss of $26m in the last year. That’s considerably wider than the $5m pretax loss reported in the prior year, however it included a $22m impairment charge for unsuccessful exploration activities. As such, and with pretax losses due to narrow to less than $3m in each of the next two years, Hardy could see an improvement in investor sentiment moving forward – especially since it has $21m in cash and no debt.

Despite the potential of Hardy and Games Workshop, though, GlaxoSmithKline continues to be a more appealing buy at the present time, with its mix of income, value and growth potential making it one of the most enticing UK-listed stocks to own.

The post Are Hardy Oil & Gas plc And Games Workshop Group PLC More Appealing Buys Than GlaxoSmithKline plc? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Peter Stephens owns shares of GlaxoSmithKline. The Motley Fool UK has recommended GlaxoSmithKline. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Barclays

I believe that global banking giant Barclays (LSE: BARC) (NYSE: BCS.US) is in great shape to deliver exceptional earnings and dividend growth in coming years. Of course, the company faces an ongoing headache in the shape of escalating legal bills, but I believe that the fruits of surging retail business — not to mention the effect of significant cost-cutting and de-risking, achieved through the scaling back of its Investment Bank — makes it a highly-appealing stock selection.

The City expects Barclays to punch earnings growth to the tune of 45% in 2015 and 18% in 2016, figures which leave the business dealing on P/E readings of 10 times and 8.5 times prospective earnings for these years — any reading below 10 times is widely considered too good to miss.

This explosive growth is also expected to drive dividends through the roof, with a payment of 6.5p per share shelled out in each of the past three years anticipated to rise to 8.6p this year and 11.6p in 2016. Consequently the yield leaps to 3.4% for 2015 and to 4.5% next year.

Hardy Oil & Gas

Embattled oil explorer Hardy Oil & Gas (LSE: HDY) is one of biggest movers in Monday business and was recently trading 14.8% higher on the day. Still, price volatility at the company — like the rest of the fossil fuels sector — is nothing new as uncertainty continues to wash across the oil market, and the company remains very much on a downtrend.

As a consequence I believe that today’s bounce will prove nothing but a short-lived phenomenon, and reckon that Hardy Oil & Gas is likely to add to the 75% stock price loss suffered since July. While it would be grossly unfair to say that the firm is on the brink of financial ruin — the business advised in November that it “is well funded to meet its future work commitments” — the lack of communication since then has left investors scratching their heads as to the state of the balance sheet.

On top of this, City analysts expect Hardy Oil & Gas to see losses per share widen as a result of the deteriorating crude price, to 6.5 US cents per share for the year concluding March 2015 from 5.6 cents in 2014. Given these uncertainties, I believe that the business is a risk too far for savvy stock hunters.

Kenmare Resources

Likewise, I believe that Kenmare Resources (LSE: KMR) is a perilous investment destination owing to question marks over the state of the company’s cash situation.

Prices in the minerals play have stabilised since the start of the year and were last dealing 11.4% higher in Monday trade. The business has been buoyed by rumours that it is about to be acquired by Iluka Resources Limited, the company having returned after having a takeover bid rebuffed during 2014.

Kenmare has endured a number of difficulties at its flagship Moma mine in Mozambique in recent times, and just this month suffered a power outage due to flooding at the site. With such issues likely to whack earnings performance, not to mention the scale of any bid from Iluka — should one even be forthcoming — and commodity prices likely to remain in the doldrums for some time yet, I reckon that investors should steer clear of the natural resources specialists.

The post Why I Would Buy Barclays PLC But Sell Hardy Oil & Gas plc And Kenmare Resources plc appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Royston Wild has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Hardy

Shares in Hardy Oil & Gas (LSE: HDY) have slumped 88% over the past five years, to 27p, showing just how risky investment in the oil exploration business can be — especially when it comes to companies not yet in profit.

At the halfway stage back in November, Hardy, which operates in India, told us that it had no debt and had cash and short-term investments amounting to $22.9m — and assured us that it was “well funded to meet its future work commitments“. But since then we’ve heard nothing about financing, with full-year results not due until June, so we really have no idea of Hardy’s cash situation right now.

The firm has also relinquished one of its exploration licences in India, which will lead to the writedown of $22m in intangible assets this year. Hardy doesn’t look in immediate danger of collapse, but 2015 could turn out to be a critical year.

Circle

Circle Oil (LSE: COP), focused on the Middle East and Africa, has seen its shares drop 73% over five years to just 10p, and that includes a 64% fall just since last September. Circle is at least profitable, though we have a big fall in earnings expected for the year just ended in December followed by a more severe fall in 2015.

The most recent financial update we’ve had, in February, told us that Circle was still funding its operations from its own operational cashlow and had $34m of available cash. On the debt side it had drawn $45m from one loan facility, and had a further $30m convertible loan due for redemption in July 2015 — although the terms of that loan have since been renegotiated.

Recent operational updates have been disappointing, with the company’s Shisr-1 well in Oman and its KAB-1bis well in Morocco both being plugged and abandoned. Still, Circle does look safe, and should benefit nicely from an uptick in the oil price if and when it comes.

Enquest

Enquest (LSE: ENQ) has suffered the biggest one-year fall, of 72% to 39p, as profits are set to plummet all the way to a forecast loss in 2016. In fact, in 2014 results just released this week, Enquest reported a basic loss per share and told us its net debt had ballooned to $933m (from $381m a year previously) — and that comes from a year of rising production, so low oil is hurting Enquest badly.

The firm is engaged in hedging and is cutting its capital expenditure, and has “successfully negotiated a relaxation of covenants to its revolving credit facility“, but says that “continued compliance with […] covenants is a priority“.

Brent crude has slipped back to around $55 a barrel, which is really not what any of these three want — but it looks likely to hurt Enquest more in the short term. Would I invest in any of these? No, I wouldn’t myself — they’re really for experts with steely nerves.

The post Is There Any Way Back For Struggling Hardy Oil & Gas plc, Circle Oil Plc And Enquest Plc? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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• Up 95%! This FTSE 100 stock’s outperformed Nvidia over the past year
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Alan Oscroft has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended shares in Afren. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Betfair Group

Shares in gambling house Betfair (LSE: BET) have leapt today on the back of a bubbly financial update, and were recently trading 15.7% higher on the day. The firm upgraded its profit guidance by 15% for the full year, to between £113m and £118m, after it reported another strong top-line performance for November-January — revenues leapt 20% during the period, to £114.6m.

City analysts expect the company to clock up a 32% earnings gain in the year ending April 2015, leaving it changing hands on a P/E rating of 27.4 times prospective earnings. This may seem expensive at first glance, although a PEG readout of 1.1 for this year — around the benchmark of 1 which represents excellent bang for one’s buck — underline’s Betfair’s terrific value relative to its growth prospects.

The company’s decision to splash the cash on marketing and product investment is certainly delivering the goods, and Betfair saw the number of active customers surge 35% in the last quarter to 760,000 users. With the company also pulling up trees in the critical mobile market, I believe that the betting firm is in great shape to enjoy terrific long-term earnings growth.

Spirax-Sarco Engineering

Steam pump and value manufacturer Spirax-Sarco (LSE: SPX) has jumped 8.5% in Thursday trade on the back of a flurry of good news. Despite the effect of cyclical problems in key markets and adverse currency movements, adjusted pre-tax profit remained stable at £151.1m as operating margins surged — at constant exchange rates profits advanced 12%.

On the back of this robust performance the company elected to award a special dividend of 120p per share. And the City is convinced that the good times look set to keep rolling, and have chalked in growth of 5% and 6% for 2015 and 2016 respectively. These projections produce P/E ratings of 21.5 times and 20.3 times for this year and next, some way above the value watermark of 15 times above.

Still, I believe that the firm remains a strong bet on the back of splendid performance in emerging markets — today’s update underlined the progress the industrial play continues to make in The Americas. With Spirax-Sarco also announcing plans today to open a brand new, wholly-owned operation which will sell directly into India, the engineer is in great shape to enjoy surging revenues in the coming years, in my opinion.

Hardy Oil & Gas

Fossil fuel play Hardy Oil & Gas (LSE: HDY) has suffered a body-blow in today’s trading session, and was recently dealing 13.4% lower from Wednesday’s close. With investor appetite in the oil sector seemingly waning by the day, the Douglas-based firm has seen its shares collapse by almost three-quarters from the Brent benchmark’s collapse last summer.

Even though the oil price has stabilised in the past month on the back of reduced US shale activity, question marks over the degree of OPEC pumping — not to mention whether the weak global economy is strong enough to mop up bulging inventories — is casting doubts over the economic viability of Hardy’s projects in India.

Although the business advised in November that it “is well funded to meet its future work commitments” — cash stood at $22.9m in cash and cash equivalents as of the end of September — a lack of news since then has rattled investor nerves, particularly as oil prices have conceded much ground since then. Like the rest of the oil market’s bigger and smaller operators, I believe that Hardy is a risk too far for savvy investors.

The post Why I Would Buy Betfair Group Ltd And Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc But Sell Hardy Oil & Gas plc appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Royston Wild has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Afren

Afren (LSE: AFR) shareholders have been through the mill, and when the company told us it had managed to claw back $17.1m from former CEO Osman Shahenshah and former COO Shahid Ullah, who had been sacked for taking unauthorised payments, sunnier days ahead might have been expected.

But the crumbling price of oil has killed off such hopes, as Brent Crude is now just a smidgen above $46 a barrel — this week it hit its lowest price for six years. A disappointing update on Afren’s reserves on 12 January didn’t help, and the share price lurched further down as a result. Afren has now crashed by 85% over the past 12 months, to a new 52-week low of 22.75p.

Hardy

Hardy Oil & Gas (LSE: HDY) has fared a little better, with a smaller fall of just 28% in 12 months. It’s been helped by a nice spike in June 2014 when full-year results were very upbeat about a likely trebling in natural gas demand in India and put a positive political slant on the country’s energy policy.

But the oil slump hadn’t started then and the black stuff was still selling for over $100 a barrel. Since the crash, Hardy shares have fallen to a 52-week low, of 55.2p, on Tuesday. And that’s seriously worrying for an oil explorer with no expectations of profit this year or next.

Enquest

Enquest (LSE: ENQ) scraped a new low on Wednesday, having lost 81% over the past year to just 21.5p, with the oil crash only being part of the reason — albeit a large part.

Prior to the downturn, Enquest was already facing delays in its North Sea exploration, where its approach of investing to extend the life of older oil fields will be under price pressure. North Sea exploration is relatively expensive at the best of times, and there won’t be many who can make a profit at sub-$50 prices.

As things stand, we’re looking at plummeting EPS expectations for 2014 and 2015, and a big rebound predicted for 2016 is of little comfort right now.

Will they survive?

Our big oil companies can easily sit out the storm, but if prices remain this low over the longer term there are a good few smaller explorers at serious risk of going under.

The post Afren Plc, Hardy Oil & Gas plc, And Enquest Plc Plumb Fresh 52-Week Depths As Oil Slide Continues appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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• Will SpaceX, Nvidia, or Alphabet be the first $10trn stock?
• Up 95%! This FTSE 100 stock’s outperformed Nvidia over the past year
• With a 9.3% yield, is this an amazing opportunity to consider buying dirt-cheap Taylor Wimpey shares?
• How much do you need in a Stocks and Shares ISA to aim for £375 a week in retirement?

Alan Oscroft has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Afren. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Well, that question has already been answered as the black stuff dipped to $49.92 in early trading today, although as I write it’s a smidgen above $50 again.

While the big companies like BP and Royal Dutch Shell can ride out such crises, prices like this are seriously hurting some of our smaller firms:

Premier Oil

Shares in Premier Oil (LSE: PMO) crashed to a 52-week low of 146p on Tuesday before recovering a little to end the day at 150.3p, and today they’re heading back down again at 149p as I write. From a 52-week high of 358.6p, Premier Oil is now down 58% with most of that slide coming since the end of September 2014.

At least Premier is profitable and is paying dividends, and there’s a two-year-out P/E of only around 7 forecast for the end of 2016. Is Premier a good oil bet now for the oil price recovery that must eventually come? (It must come, mustn’t it?)

Hardy

There’s no profit expected at Hardy Oil & Gas (LSE: HDY) before 2017 at the earliest, and that’s made its share price quite a bit more volatile. But its fall from peak to trough is similar to Premier’s — from a 52-week high of 123.75p the shares have slumped 52% to a low of 60p.

Hardy, whose exploration is focused in India, told us in a six-monthly update in November that it was “in a strong working capital position” to fund its plans with $22.9m in cash and equivalents, but the plunge in oil prices must surely require re-evaluation of the viability of some of its explorations.

EnQuest

EnQuest (LSE: ENQ) is the biggest faller of these three, with a jarring crunch of 78% from its 52-week high of 148.4p to a closing low of just 31.75p on Tuesday — at the time of writing, the shares are back up a little to 33p. Over five years, the EnQuest price is down 70%.

EnQuest is actually profitable, although forecast earnings per share are very erratic (as they often are due to the nature of explorers’ income), with a slump to 2.4p forecast for 2015 from an expected 6.5p for the year just ended.

Any bargains?

I reckon investing in oil exploration is only for experts, and only those who have the nerves to handle tough periods like this — but if I was at all tempted, I’d be looking for sustainably profitable companies with plenty of cash on their books.

The post Sub-$50 Oil Sends Premier Oil PLC, Hardy Oil & Gas plc, EnQuest Plc To New 52-Week Lows appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• With a yield of 6.8% and a P/E ratio of 12.1, is this a dirt cheap FTSE 250 stock to consider?
• Will SpaceX, Nvidia, or Alphabet be the first $10trn stock?
• Up 95%! This FTSE 100 stock’s outperformed Nvidia over the past year
• With a 9.3% yield, is this an amazing opportunity to consider buying dirt-cheap Taylor Wimpey shares?
• How much do you need in a Stocks and Shares ISA to aim for £375 a week in retirement?

Alan Oscroft has no position in any shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.