BlackRock see-saws Fletcher Building stake
Blackrock back above substantial shareholder holding in Fletcher Building.
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The world's largest investment manager BlackRock has tweaked its stake in Fletcher Building back above the 5% substantial shareholder mark again.
The US-headquartered fund manager first became a substantial shareholder in the Auckland-based construction and building supplies firm through various related companies in March last year. It had built up the stake from November 2014, including purchases at between $8.04 and $8.97 per share.
Its latest move lifted its shareholding to 5% after a number of trades over the past two weeks see-sawed to just below and just above the substantial shareholding mark, according to notices lodged with the NZX.
Shares in Fletcher Building are currently trading at $6.74, down 0.9% today, and have dropped 7.5% so far this year. A consensus of analysts on Reuters rate the stock a 'hold' with a median price target of $8.30.
The construction company reported a 20% slide in annual profit in August to $270 million while operating earnings rose 5% to $653 million, the lower end of its guidance.
At its November annual meeting Fletcher's board forecast operating earnings for the 2016 financial year in the range of $650 million to $690 million, the same as its previous year forecast.
Meantime, New York-listed BlackRock's Australian subsidiary lowered its stake in casino and hotel operator SkyCity Entertainment Group from 7% to 6% late last month.
The investment manager also reduced its substantial shareholding in Sky Network Television from 5.4% to just under 5% in August last year. Its other Kiwi holdings include a 6.3% stake in telco Spark New Zealand and 5% of mining company OceanaGold Corp.
BlackRock was founded in 1988 by a group of Wall St bankers including current chairman and chief executive Larry Fink. It has US$4.5 trillion of assets under management.
(BusinessDesk)
Fiona Rotherham
Thu, 14 Jan 2016
Thu, 14 Jan 2016
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BlackRock see-saws Fletcher Building stake
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