Stocks to watch: Allied Farmers, Contact, Infratil, NZX, Warehouse

Wednesday 9th December 2009

The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading yesterday.

Themes of the day: Shares fell in the US and Europe amid renewed worry that the global economy might not recover as fast as some investors had been betting in recent months. BioVittoria extended the closing date of its initial public offering to December 29, citing a glut of offers for investors that had trimmed demand. The delay comes after Synlait and DNZ Property Fund pulled their IPOs. Figures today showing electronic card transactions at retailers will indicate the pace of consumer spending in the run up to the peak Christmas season.

Allied Farmers (ALF): Shareholders have overwhelmingly supported management’s proposal to take over ailing Hanover Finance yesterday, with over 92% of votes in favour. The transactions still needs approval; of Hanover and United Finance investors. The shares traded unchanged at 28 cents yesterday.

Contact Energy (CEN): The largest listed power company will hike its gas prices by an average of 5% from January saying its hand is being forced after wholesale prices rose 25%, the NZ Herald reported. About 65,000 residential and business customers will be affected by the increase. The shares rose 0.9% to $5.90 in trading yesterday.

Infratil (IFT): The investment group’s stock is rated ‘outperform’ by First NZ Capital analyst Rob Bode, according to the ShareChat website. Greenspark will probably succeed in its bid for at least 50.1% of Australi’s Energy Developments, allowing Infratil to sell its 32.5% stake, realising about $178 million, Bode said. That should boost annual reported earnings. The shares fell 2 cents to $1.65 yesterday.

NZX (NZX): The stock exchange operator rose 2.7% to $8.53 yesterday, adding to the previous day’s 5.2% advance, when the company said dividends would rise by at least 1 cent a year and announced it would quadruple shares on issue.

Warehouse Group (WHS): Government data showing the value of electronic card transactions last month should give an indication of how retailers will do this Christmas shopping season. Warehouse reported weaker-than-expected sales in September and October in what was a slow start to the season. The shares were unchanged at $4.15 and have gained more than 25% this year.

Businesswire.co.nz

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