Shares round-up: the FTSE 250’s best and worst stocks

Festive sales cheer today failed to stop a slide for Wetherspoon (J D) (LSE:JDW) shares as the City regained its appetite for Premier Foods (LSE:PFD) and expressed relief at recent JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD.) trading.

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The FTSE 250-listed pub chain’s 8.8% jump in like-for-like sales over the three-week Christmas period accelerated second-quarter growth to 6.1% from the rate of 3.7% in the first.

However, shares slumped 46p to 692p as boss Tim Martin said the company is on track for a full-year trading outcome slightly below last year’s performance.

He pointed to the impact of rising bills for energy, wages, repairs and business rates, which combined have added £45 million in the first 25 weeks of the financial year.

The cost pressures continue to squeeze the group’s lower-margin business model, which included a recent January sale when pints of Worthington’s were priced at 99p.

Broker Peel Hunt said the chain’s average beer price discount reached 34% in September, having raised prices by half as much as the sector in percentage terms over the past six years.

It raised its price target to 750p but kept its Hold recommendation as the current valuation looks fair given that the business model is highly exposed to changes in tax rates.

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Peel Hunt added: “Although the recent direction of travel has not been favourable, recent events suggest the government is starting to listen, and a reduction in business rates is possible.”

The shares trade on a price multiple of 14 times forecast 2026 earnings, which Shore Capital noted was still a premium to quoted peers despite being low by historic standards.

Shore said the group remains a class operator and that the recent signs of life in site expansion “could tilt the investment case”.

The group has opened six pubs – at London Bridge station, Merchant Square in Paddington, Kenilworth, Basildon, Wetherby and Beaconsfield – so far in the financial year. Its managed estate is currently 794 strong, with a total of 15 new pubs due to open across the period.

JD Sports Fashion shares featured among the FTSE 100 frontrunners after the retailer reported a 1.8% like-for-like sales decline for the first nine weeks of the fourth quarter. This was better than the year-to-date rate of 2.1% as the group reported stronger-than-expected North America trading, offset by softer trends in the UK and Europe.

The company expects its gross margin to be roughly 50 basis points lower year on year, which is an improvement on the 60 points decline seen over the first nine months. Shares lifted 2.9p to 81.2p, having fallen back from the nine-month high of 104p seen in October.

Peel Hunt, which has a price target of 200p, said: “Forecast momentum is negative but this is still a powerful cash machine. We expect a cash return to shareholders next year.”

However, UBS warned that tougher year-on-year comparisons in January and likelihood of further City consensus cuts for the 2027 and 2028 financial years meant the stock is likely to remain under pressure.

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The shares of Premier Foods returned to form at the top of the FTSE 250 index after it raised full-year trading profit guidance to the upper end of market expectations.

The upgrade followed a strong Christmas update as the owner of household brands including Oxo, Mr Kipling and Ambrosia reported third-quarter branded revenues growth of 5.2%.

House broker Shore Capital said it had been “surprised and disappointed” by the gradual de-rating of shares since they peaked at 214p in May.

It believes the market has been unnerved by external headwinds earlier in the financial year and that today’s update may provide a platform for the shares to re-rate. They rose 11.8p to 181p in today’s session, leaving them broadly unchanged over the past year.

Shore believes the company deserves to be on a price/earnings multiple of 15-16 times, rather than the current 11.3 times forecast 2026 earnings. This equates to a price range of 225p-240p.

Elsewhere in the FTSE 250, Galliford Try Holdings (LSE:GFRD) shares consolidated their position near a record high after management said that profit for the year to June will exceed the top end of City forecasts

The construction group benefited from strong positions in its chosen sectors, particularly water as framework programmes for the new five-year regulatory period make progress.

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Shares rose 13p to 536p as Galliford Try’s £4.1 billion order book in predominantly long-term frameworks has provided strong visibility around its future work.

Panmure Liberum increased its price target by 20p to 600p and said that a multiple of 13.7 times forecast calendar earnings remains cheap given the growth potential.

Peel Hunt boosted its June year-end profit forecast from £47 million to £48.9 million and said it now expected earnings per share of 35.1p, compared with a previous forecast of 33.8p.

It notes that its estimates are 48% higher than when they were first introduced.

The bank lifted its price target by 60p to 610p following the update: “We believe Galliford is in great shape, delivering strategic, operational and financial progress.”