Vodafone Group plc (LON: VOD), Compass Group plc (LON: CPG), Ocado Group PLC (LON: OCDO) are all lifted by good news.
The FTSE 100 is bouncing either side of the 6,300 level at the moment. It closed yesterday on 6,295, then rose this morning to reach 6,313, before falling back to 6,280 points at the time of writing -- down 15 on the day.
But it's all just noise really, as there's been no real economic news this week. Still, even if the FTSE isn't heading for yet another new high today, plenty of individual shares are on the way up. Here are three responding well to good news:
Vodafone
An interim update sent Vodafone (LSE: VOD) (NASDAQ: VOD.US) shares up 3.6p (2.1%) to 174p, adding to the rise of around 10% since the start of the year. Service revenue for the quarter ended December declined, as expected, by 2.6%, with the hard-pressed countries of Europe making up the bulk -- UK service revenue was down 5%. But in emerging markets, revenue from Turkey grew by 18%, with India up 9%. And Verizon Wireless revenue was boosted by 8.7%. Overall data revenues were up by 8.7% as smartphone penetration increases.
Vodafone, the biggest dividend-payer in the FTSE 100, has seen its forecasts repeatedly uprated by analysts, with earnings per share of 16.2p and a dividend of 10.5p now expected for the full year. That's a 6% dividend yield from shares on a P/E of under 11.
Compass
Compass Group (LSE: CPG) shares have risen by more than 20% over the past 12 months, putting on another 9.6p (1.3%) so far today to 775p, after the catering services group released an interim statement ahead of its AGM.
The new year has apparently started well for Compass, with nearly 6% organic revenue growth in the first quarter. In December the company completed its £500 million share buyback with an average price paid of 670p per share, which looks like it was a good move considering today's price.
Ocado
Shares in online supermarket Ocado (LSE: OCDO) are continuing their recovery from last year's slump, picking up another 11p (10.6%) today to reach 115p. The occasion was the reporting of a £2 million pre-tax profit for the year ending December 2012 -- the City had been expecting a small loss.
That profit came from an 11% rise in revenue to £678 million, backed by an 11% rise in order numbers to 123,000 per week. That level of profit is still pretty low compared to the company's market cap of around £640 million, so there's clearly a lot of expectations surrounding the performance of Ocado's second warehouse and order processing centre, due to open next month.
Finally, if you're attracted by dividends like Vodafone's, you're not alone -- whether you take the income to live on or reinvest it in more shares, there's nothing wrong with good old cash, whatever your strategy.
And that's why I recommend the BRAND-NEW Fool report, "The Motley Fool’s Top Income Share For 2013", in which our top analysts identify a share that they believe will provide handsome dividend income for years to come.
But it will only be available for a limited period, so click here to get your copy today.
> Alan Oscroft does not own any shares mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool has recommended shares in Vodafone.
