Hammerson (LON:HMSO) Announces Earnings Results

Hammerson (LON:HMSO) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported GBX 12.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. Hammerson had a return on equity of 11.77% and a net margin of 109.58%.

Here are the key takeaways from Hammerson’s conference call:

• Arndale acquisition completed: Hammerson is acquiring a 50% interest in Manchester’s Arndale Centre through an off-market deal with M&G. Management said the asset requires no urgent capital expenditure, with planned investment focused mainly on leasing, tenant mix, public realm and food-court improvements.
• 2026 underlying earnings guidance was raised from £120 million to £125 million, driven by strong leasing, higher occupancy, new openings and turnover rent; including Arndale, guidance rises to £132 million, up 27% year over year.
• Hammerson maintained its medium-term targets of 6%–8% annual EPS and DPS growth and approximately 10% total accounting return, supported by rental tension, upcoming repositioning projects and operating leverage.
• The equity-funded acquisition reduces leverage and gives the company approximately £200 million of additional acquisition capacity while remaining within comfortable credit metrics.
• Portfolio valuations were flat at the half year, although management expects potential yield compression in the second half as transaction activity improves; the company also faces the need to refinance the remaining portion of a Eurobond maturing next June.

Hammerson Stock Performance

Shares of LON:HMSO traded down GBX 0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching GBX 368.80. 1,769,879 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,200,421. The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 355.43 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 341.70. The firm has a market cap of £1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 80.80, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Hammerson has a 52 week low of GBX 264 and a 52 week high of GBX 377.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 448 price objective on shares of Hammerson in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 346.83.

Hammerson Company Profile

Hammerson is a cities business. An owner, operator and developer of prime urban real estate, with a portfolio value of £4.7billion (as at 30 June 2023), in some of the fastest growing cities in the UK, Ireland and France. Our portfolio and adjacent lands leverage our experience and capabilities to create and manage exceptional city centre destinations with the opportunity to drive value and reshape entire neighbourhoods. Our assets are high profile and play an important role in our communities, welcoming c.