Investors checked out of InterContinental Hotels (LON:IHG) as it was hit by a bout of profit taking.
It came as the company that owns Holiday Inn revealed full-year pre-tax profits jumped 11% to US$614mln as it saw more guests from America and emerging less economically developed countries buy rooms at its hotels.
Broker Investec dropped it to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’, but still sees it as a core travel and leisure stock to hold, thus the higher 2,000p target price.
“The 30% three-month shares rally has closed the gap to (1) our share price target, and (2) the US peer group valuation,” said analyst James Hollins, justifying the downgrade.
Rival hotelier Millennium & Copthorne (LON:MLC) will show its hand on Friday.
Investors also tapped into news about Chariot Oil & Gas (LON:CHAR), whose operational update saw shares roll south.
The company lost 15% of its value after its drilling plans in Namibia were set back until next year.
Following the disappointment of the Tapir South well, which did not hit oil, the company has been reviewing its strategy.
It has now begun a partnering process for its prospects in the ‘Northern Area’ with a view to drilling a well in 2014. The priority, it says, is the Zamba prospect, which contains an estimated 375mln barrels.
Merchant Securities cast its eye over the update and stuck to its ‘hold’ rating ahead of an analyst meeting today. The broker said Chariot’s cash position – at US$68mln – was some way below the US$86mln it had been expecting and it cut its target price to under 30p.
Range Resources (LON:RRL) shares have been on some run in the past few days, up 40% since last Wednesday alone.
And they are on the rise again, up a further 9% on the back of the news it has reached a heads of agreement, along with its joint venture partners, with the Georgian Industrial Group to develop a coal bed methane project in the eastern European country.
Sound Oil (LON:SOU) lost some of its following after the company said it was going it alone with the Badile exploration project.
This morning confirmed that it had received an offer from an Italian oil and gas major to farm into the project. The offer was, however, turned down as Sound Oil did not believe the offer reflected the potential of what it considers a major asset.
The company said today that it will retain its 100% operated stake and the “significant upside” in the project.
Kalimantan Gold (LON:KLG) shone after the Indonesia-focused company unveiled drill results from the Beruang Kanan prospect, which it said showed significant copper mineralisation.
The standout figures were the copper grades of 0.63% to 1.03% over 60 metres in length.
The company plans to have a preliminary resource estimate for the Indonesian project during the second quarter of this year.
After soaring as much as 50% in early deals on AIM the exploration share settled around the 4.25p mark - up 0.88p or 26% on the day.
“We are extremely excited and optimistic about our 2013 exploration program,” said chief executive Faldi Ismail.
“With our budget set this year at up to $16.2m, an additional 14 major prospects will be explored this year to generate drill targets with the intention of achieving up to 3,000m of drilling per month initially.”
Investors this morning saluted oil junior Union Jack’s (LON:UJOP) first deal and fundraiser.
The company, another from the David Bramhill stable, is farming into the petroleum exploration and development licence 201 (or PEDL201 for short).
It will pay 10% of the costs of the Wolds-1 well to earn a 5% interest each from partners Egdon and Celtique.
Union Jack will be the junior partner of five in PEDL 201. The biggest shareholders are Egdon and Celtique with 32.5%, followed by Terrain Energy (12.5%) and Corfe Energy (12.5%).
The licence is located in the East Midlands and on the southern margin of the Widmerpool Gulf, a geological basin with proven oil generation and migration and on trend with the Rempstone and Long Clawson producing oil fields.