Whitbread Rights Issue

[GrahamPlatt]

What are your thoughts?
SP currently on the up a little.
Stockopedia ranking in it's boots.
Cancelled dividend.
PALs currently trading at £10.50 or so...

I have to say I’m tempted to sell mine.

[Arborbridge]

What are your thoughts?
SP currently on the up a little.
Stockopedia ranking in it's boots.
Cancelled dividend.
PALs currently trading at £10.50 or so...

I have to say I’m tempted to sell mine.

They have been in my wife's HYP since the beginning and I'm thinking of selling too. They are not a HYP share now, and hold few attractions of any sort so there's little reason to hold.

Arb.

[88V8]

Jumping on to the tailcoat of a bandwagon that's already sailed, I bought WTB this morning along with a ragbag of other Travel & Leisure stocks that I could have bought two months ago if I'd had the vision, indeed should have bought last week if I'd had the courage.

WTB have a decent balance sheet. In terms of yield, they're much more of a recovery play.
I bought ex-rights, would have taken them up.
Not really HYP.

V8

[Wizard]

Jumping on to the tailcoat of a bandwagon that's already sailed, I bought WTB this morning along with a ragbag of other Travel & Leisure stocks that I could have bought two months ago if I'd had the vision, indeed should have bought last week if I'd had the courage.

WTB have a decent balance sheet. In terms of yield, they're much more of a recovery play.
I bought ex-rights, would have taken them up.
Not really HYP.

V8

Without wishing to go wildly off topic I am not sure the bandwagon is completely out of sight of land (love your mixed metaphor ). You can still pick up International Airlines Group or Carnival at 50% below price 3 months ago, EasyJet 33% down on 3 moths ago. In future years any of those could become good dividend payers, but of course they might not...

Disclosure: no holdings in any of the above, but I do keep looking at IAG.

EDIT: I have just realised that 3 months isn't a useful benchmark now as we are more than 3 months beyond the date I consider the start of this, i.e. 20th February. The current position is considerably more down versus 20th February.

[Dod101]

They have been in my wife's HYP since the beginning and I'm thinking of selling too. They are not a HYP share now, and hold few attractions of any sort so there's little reason to hold.

Getting a bit rash, Arb. They are surely a recovery stock but it may take a while, but that is no different from quite a few other one time HYP shares. I do not hold and am not tempted.

Dod

[tjh290633]

I sold WTB in 2006 at 1370p, when the yield fell below 2%. Since then they have never been on my HYP radar.

TJH

[Arborbridge]

Getting a bit rash, Arb.
Dod

[UncleEbenezer]

Jumping on to the tailcoat of a bandwagon that's already sailed, I bought WTB this morning along with a ragbag of other Travel & Leisure stocks that I could have bought two months ago if I'd had the vision, indeed should have bought last week if I'd had the courage.

WTB have a decent balance sheet. In terms of yield, they're much more of a recovery play.
I bought ex-rights, would have taken them up.
Not really HYP.

V8

Where were you when I raised the question?

(I neither bought nor sold at rock bottom, but I'm taking up my WTB rights).

[IanTHughes]

The only time in 18 years that the yield on Whitbread PLC (WTB) went above 4.50%, and even then only briefly, was in the first quarter of 2009. Apart from that brief period, the yield has mostly been below 3.00%, hardly HYP territoty.

https://www.dividenddata.co.uk/dividend ... y?epic=WTB

And with the following:

Dividend Cut - 02/2020 annual dividend cut from 99.65p to 32.65p. Future dividends suspended until at least March 2022.

It is hardly a candidate right now!


Ian

[IanTHughes]

Getting a bit rash, Arb.

Nursey: "If it was a bit of rash it wouldn't be his first bit of rash!"

Queenie: "Shut up Nursey! Mouth is open, should be closed!"



Ian

[88V8]

Jumping on to the tailcoat of a bandwagon that's already sailed ....

Where were you when I raised the question?

And with wonderful prescience raised it just a week before the market bottomed.

I'm afraid I was distracted by buying MRCH, AV.A, LGEN, PM01, Shell oops, IMB, CTY etc etc.

Don't you feel a little bit peeved that you got it so right and yet didn't take your own advice

V8

[Arborbridge]

The only time in 18 years that the yield on Whitbread PLC (WTB) went above 4.50%, and even then only briefly, was in the first quarter of 2009. Apart from that brief period, the yield has mostly been below 3.00%, hardly HYP territoty.

https://www.dividenddata.co.uk/dividend ... y?epic=WTB

And with the following:

Dividend Cut - 02/2020 annual dividend cut from 99.65p to 32.65p. Future dividends suspended until at least March 2022.

It is hardly a candidate right now!


Ian

Admittedly I wasn't being very HYP! I bought it for my wife's HYP and she really doesn't need the income. The thought was, a large dependable payer of middling yield would suit her better than going to the upper reaches of yield.

I apologise to the board for my non-HYP purchase and promise not to do it again Well, until the next time I topup ULVR 'cos I feel like it

[IanTHughes]

The thought was, a large dependable payer of middling yield would suit her better than going to the upper reaches of yield.

Are you serious?

https://www.dividenddata.co.uk/dividend ... y?epic=WTB

Dividend Cut - 02/2020 annual dividend cut from 99.65p to 32.65p. Future dividends suspended until at least March 2022

No dividends for at least two years!! In your view, how many years with no dividend would be required in order to label a dividend payer as not dependable? Three years? Five years?


Ian

[PinkDalek]

The thought was, a large dependable payer of middling yield would suit her better than going to the upper reaches of yield.

Are you serious? ...

It looks like you missed Arb's:

They have been in my wife's HYP since the beginning and I'm thinking of selling too.

[GrahamPlatt]

Well I sold the rights yesterday & have transferred the proceeds into ITs.
I’ll see whether that was wise or not in perhaps another decade or so.

[Arborbridge]

Are you serious?



Ian

Increasing at 7.6% over 5 years and 9.9% over 7 years. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong series of numbers, or fatfinger or something.
https://uk.advfn.com/p.php?pid=financia ... ol=L%5Ewtb

Arb.

[scrumpyjack]

It has been a stunning performer for me, having bought at 707p then sold enough to more than cover my total cost at 5300p then sold another large chunk in the tender offer at 4972p. OK with 20:20 hindsight should have sold all at that point!

Anyway I will take up my rights. This is a very conservative company with a very strong balance sheet. It will come through this.

It would be good if they could repeat their Costa triumph (bought the business for £19m and sold it for £4,000m), but lightening doesn't strike twice?

But as others have said it doesn't meet HYP criteria

[IanTHughes]

Are you serious?

Increasing at 7.6% over 5 years and 9.9% over 7 years. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong series of numbers, or fatfinger or something.
https://uk.advfn.com/p.php?pid=financia ... ol=L%5Ewtb

And now yielding 0.00% with forecast increase of 0.00% for two years!

Look, there is nothing wrong with purchasing Whitbread PLC (WTB), if that is what you want for your portfolio. But do not kid yourself that it is "high yield" or "dependable" as a dividend payer, when at present it clearly does not deserve either of these labels!


Ian

[Arborbridge]

I've already explained that it was a bit off the wall and not strictly HYP, but for that particular purpose in mind - what appeared to be a steady share in an established company which has been going for a long time - it seemed OK. My wife's HYP was deliberately designed to be more down yield than my own, because she did not need the income.

This is what the dividend growth looked like last time I plotted it - a prettier picture than many of my own shares, I'd say:-



For those who think low yield is an advantage compared with double the CTY yield, I can only say, one has to look at many examples and not just pick a few high yields that prove the point.

Arb.

[Arborbridge]

Are you serious?

Increasing at 7.6% over 5 years and 9.9% over 7 years. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong series of numbers, or fatfinger or something.
https://uk.advfn.com/p.php?pid=financia ... ol=L%5Ewtb

And now yielding 0.00% with forecast increase of 0.00% for two years!

Look, there is nothing wrong with purchasing Whitbread PLC (WTB), if that is what you want for your portfolio. But do not kid yourself that it is "high yield" or "dependable" as a dividend payer, when at present it clearly does not deserve either of these labels!


Ian

I'm not sure what you are criticising me for here. I haven't said I am going to buy WTB, in point of fact, I've only mentioned selling it. I've pointed out the reason for buying it years ago, - because it was a dependable payer and a stable company, but as you mention, the dividend is now zero, which is why I'm selling it. You really can't pick me up on the current situation for having bought it previously, since I judged on the record at that time - not some future time! So, I think you need to row back a bit.

I don't see a disagreement between us, but you seem to be creating one. It must be very amusing for non-HYP onlookers to see HYPers eating one another.

Arb.