Small-cap comment featuring BMS, ALU, SNWS and FLO

Braemar Shipping Services (LON:BMS) – at a discount to its peers 

The recent improvement in the share price follows on after the excellent results from its very much larger peer group player Clarkson. 

That company’s figures have made certain investors realise the discount at which Braemar is trading currently. 

There should be a bullish Update on the current year’s trading being announced within the next two months.  

The fiscal year ends on 28 February and what an eventful year it has experienced especially in its shipbroking business. 

After falling away to just 200p at the beginning of last month, the company’s shares closed strongly at 271.5p by last night. 

Is the market now expecting to hear bullish news with its profit expectations being surpassed? 

I see them over the 300p level very soon, with last year’s 323p peak an obvious objective. 

(Profile 05.12.19 @ 185p set a Target Price of 250p*) 

(Profile 20.05.20 @ 99p et a Target Price of 150p*)   

The Alumasc Group (LON:ALU) – heading back up to its recent peak 

Expect a Trading Statement from this roof to drain products group within the next couple of weeks or so.  

With the interims to the end of last month due to be declared in early February, it is fair to assume that the Update will be out very soon. 

Certainly, the share price moving ahead over the last few days can be taken as a pointer. 

In the third week of October the premium sustainable building products, systems and solutions group’s Chairman, John McCall, stated that he was confident of a strong year ahead. 

Following the AGM Statement analyst David Buxton at finnCap published his current year estimates to end June of £97m in sales and £10.8m in adjusted pre-tax profits, worth 23.6p per share in earnings and more than double covering a healthy 10p dividend per share. 

Buxton has a 315p price objective on the group’s shares. 

Late last November the group’s shares were trading at just 205p, they closed last night at around 240.5p, I remain convinced that they could soon be trading back up above their 2021 peak of 288p. 

(Profile 13.02.20 @ 116p set a Target Price of 145p*) 

(Profile 08.06.20 @ 80p set a Target Price of 105p*) 

Smiths News (LON:SNWS) – dividend allowed to be even higher as borrowings reduce 

The UK’s largest newspaper and magazine wholesaler, with 55% of the market, following a chunky deleveraging last year has issued good news. 

Just before Christmas it tied up an extension to its financing agreement with a syndicate of banks, from 2023 to 2025. 

That good news was supplemented by a lifting of its cap on dividends and distributions from £6m to £10m a year. 

Already the group’s shares are extremely cheaply rated and offering a handsome yield – could this news help investors realise just what they are missing? 

The shares were looking laboured at 34p in the third week of last December, however they are now showing some renewed life. 

Are they now on the move ahead of the group’s AGM on Thursday 20 January? 

Having nearly trebled its average daily dealing volume they closed yesterday over 4.5% higher at 39.40p. 

I am still extremely positive about the upside potential for this group’s shares, with my June 2021 fixed price objective being an easy aim. 

(Profile 24.07.20 @ 2025p set a Target Price of 27p*) 

(Profile 24.06.21 @ 39.5p set a Target Price of 55p) 

Flowtech Fluidpower (LON:FLO) – very much on the ‘return to growth’ agenda 

The shares of this specialist full-service supplier of technical fluid power products and services are beginning to pick up their pace. 

The group should be announcing its 2021 finals Trading Update due before the end of this month, with its actual results due in early April. 

At the half-way stage, it had shown a strong revenue recovery, that gave the market some confidence that the full year to end December could show sales up about 9% at £104m, while adjusted pre-tax profits could have risen from £0.3m to £4.7m. 

The current year, now just five days old, could see sales up again to £110m, with profits of £8.7m, worth 11.3p in earnings per share. 

That means that this year its shares could well reflect that recovery strength within the next few weeks. 

Just three weeks ago the shares were trading at around the 122p level, last night they closed at 141.5p. 

Market price objectives range at around the 175p mark – good news in the next few weeks could spur them up to close to that figure. 

(Profile 23.04.21 @ 105p set a Target Price of 130p*) 

(Asterisks * denote that Target Prices have been achieved after profile publication)