British equity markets seem to be recovering after a difficult start to the year. The FTSE 100 has appreciated by 0.6% over the last week and 1.5% over the last three months. News that the British economy has returned to pre-crisis levels has no doubt helped. Investor sentiment may rise even further if we win some medals in the Commonwealth Games. This week, we explore whether these improving trends have had an impact on the stocks that have passed through Stockopedia’s GuruScreens.

Growth Screens

Hilton Food Group (HFG) is a retail meat packing company. On 18 July, the company qualified for the Naked Trader Screen, which searches for growth companies trading at a reasonable price. Hilton introducednew product lines across Europe in 2013. It also secured new contracts with Tesco and completed the conversion of its manufacturing site in Western Australia. Over the last twelve months, these factors have helped the company grow its Dividend by 6.2%. Earnings per Share have grown by 32%. Sales by have grown by 9%. Hilton also trades on a PE ratio of 19, which is not especially cheap, but just low enough to qualify for the Naked Trader Screen.

Crest Nicholson (CRST) is a house building company which qualified for the Zulu Principle Screen on 26 July. The company meets Jim Slater’s qualitative criteria of having ‘something new’ - in this case, a new industry trend. Demand for housebuilders has been stimulated by the Government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme and the wider economic recovery which, coupled with the UK housing shortage, drive up house prices. This is reflected in the numbers. The company has a ROCE of 15% and also grew earnings in 2012 and 2013. Brokers expect the company to grow earnings by another 28% over the next year. This gives the company the requisite low peg to qualify for the Zulu Screen. Crest’s PEG is 0.3.

Momentum Screens

British Sky Broadcasting (BSY) qualified for the Josef Lakonishok Screen this week. This screen filters for stocks with value and momentum credentials. The company has a PE ratio of 14.8. This is below the industry median, despite the fact that British Sky has consistently beaten the market over the last three and six months. The Lakonishok screen also filters for companies that have beaten the brokers’ EPS estimates over the last year. For example,…

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