Why Barratt Developments Plc, Countrywide PLC and Michael Page International plc Should Lag The FTSE 100 Today

Barratt Developments Plc (LON: BDEV), Countrywide PLC (LON: CWD) and Michael Page International plc (LON: MPI) all slip.

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The FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE) is still pretty uninspiring, losing 28 points to 6,729 by mid-morning, reversing yesterday’s 17-point gain for an 11-point loss on the week so far. Pundits everywhere are getting excited about the prospect of the FTSE reaching 7,000 points in the near future — but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen this week.

Which companies are holding the markets down? Here are three from the FTSE indices that are falling this morning:

Barratt Developments

Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) bucked the upwards housebuilder trend this morning, with a 3.9p (1%) fall to 377p, despite a trading update for the six months to 31 December revealing a 19% rise in total completions during the period. With forward sales for of more than £1.2bn already in the bag, chief executive Mark Clare said “…we are well placed for FY14 and beyond“.

In the scheme of things, today’s small blip is pretty meaningless — the Barratt share price is up nearly 70% over the past 12 months, and we have very strong earnings growth forecast for the next two years.

Countrywide

An update from estate agent Countrywide (LSE: CWD) resulted in a share price fall of 27p (4.4%) to 591p, even though the figures looked reasonable. For the fourth quarter to 31 December, total income was up 25% with full-year income up 11% — with contributions from the recently-acquired Lambert Smith Hampton excluded, that’s 13% and 8% respectively.

City analysts are currently forecasting strong earnings growth for Countrywide, putting the shares on a P/E for 2014 of 17, dropping to 12 for 2015. Dividends of a modest 2% are expected, rising to 2.8%.

Michael Page International

We also had a final trading update from recruitment specialist Michael Page International (LSE: MPI), and again the result was a fall in the share price — of 14p (2.8%) to 475p. Gross profit in Q4 fell 1.2% to £125m, with the annual figure down 2.5% to £513.9m. The firm reiterated its earlier guidance for full-year pre-exceptional operating profit of around £68m.

These are still tough times in the recruitment business, but the firm did enjoy rising gross profits in both the UK and USA — 2.2% here, and 5.6% across the Atlantic.

Despite today’s fall, the shares are still up approximately 18% over the past 12 months, beating the FTSE’s 12%.

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article.

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