Shares round-up: Marston’s, Card Factory, Pets at Home
City writer Graeme Evans turns the spotlight on a trio of consumer-focused stocks.
28th January 2026 15:40
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
A punishing session for Marston's (LSE:MARS) alongside downbeat updates by Card Factory (LSE:CARD) and Pets at Home Group (LSE:PETS) today highlighted the fragile conditions facing consumer-focused stocks.
The pub chain slumped to the bottom of the FTSE All-Share after it said like-for-like sales rose 4% between 21 December and 3 January and by 5.6% across five key festive dates.
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The disappointment was driven by comparisons to guidance at November’s annual results, when Marston’s said Christmas bookings were 11% ahead of the same point a year earlier.
Underlying sales were flat across the 17 weeks to 24 January, but with the company confident it will meet expectations for the year to September and deliver against the longer-term targets set out in a City presentation in October 2024.
The chain, which has more than 1,000 sites, pointed out that the World Cup will be a significant summer trading opportunity and that its new pub formats have continued to outperform.
The shares fell 9p to below 60p, although Peel Hunt retained its price target of 85p.
The bank notes that the company’s net debt-to-underlying earnings ratio is the lowest since 2006 at 4.6 times. It expects shareholder returns to recommence in the 2027 financial year, when the net debt ratio should be under four times.
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Peel Hunt estimates that a forecast £6 million increase in underlying earnings to £211 million in the current financial year is worth a further 22% improvement in equity value.
Card Factory will be looking for a pick-up in fortunes in the run-up to Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day after disappointing sales caused a profit warning before Christmas.
Management today reiterated lower profit guidance of between £55 million and £60 million, which is a 19% cut at the midpoint of the City’s range prior to the downgrade.
Like-for-like store revenues fell 1.2% across November and December, with shares today broadly flat at 69p on relief that trading had not got any worse.
The company also said that self-help initiatives largely offset “persistent” cost inflation and that the integration of the Funky Pigeon business from WH Smith remains on track.
It continues to expect a progressive dividend when it reports annual results on 28 April.
UBS left its price target unchanged at 120p, adding that the company traded at a 40% discount to historic levels.
The bank said: “We continue to view Card Factory as a deep-discount stock facing short-term headwinds, with strong cash generation and see re-rating potential dependent on a UK consumer spending recovery.”
Peel Hunt also regards the shares as cheap, but warns they are likely to remain this way due to the lack of trading momentum.
The bank, which has a Hold recommendation, said: “There remain fundamental questions to answer, but there will likely be some relief that things did not get worse over Christmas.
“The non-core activities are interesting, but it is hard to see much momentum developing in the stores, so the shares are probably dead money for now.”
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Pets at Home shares rallied 11.4p to 211.8p after it said price cuts averaging 12% on 1,000 lines had a positive impact on retail volumes in the 12 weeks to 1 January.
The division, which was the source of a profit warning in September, posted an overall revenue decline of 1.1% for the period. This was offset by more strong growth in the vets division following a rise of 5%.
Peel Hunt still sees fundamental issues for the company’s incoming chief executive to solve in terms of range and service but said the steps taken on price are a good start.
The broker added: “There will be some relief this was not another warning given tough external conditions. We still believe retail has a long way to go before it recovers and forecast momentum is flat at best.”
It regards a price/earnings multiple of about 13 times as full enough, resulting in its Hold recommendation and 180p target price. Former Waitrose managing director James Bailey is due to take over as chief executive on 30 March.
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