Kingfisher jumps 11% and nears Peel Hunt target after profit upgrade

What Brokers Say Retail & Consumer Written by: Ephrem Joseph 04:00 Tue 22 Sep 2026 --> Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ephrem Joseph Ephrem began his journalistic journey at Proactive in June 2021. With a strong academic background in Information Technology, his expertise particularly lies in the field of Cyber Security, Management Information Systems and Computer Forensics. Before joining Proactive, Ephrem worked as a researcher and lecturer at a number of leading universities, including the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, the University of Winchester’s Institute of Policing, and Jain... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Kingfisher PLC ( LSE:KGF ) View Price & Profile Kingfisher jumps 11% and nears Peel Hunt target after profit upgrade Published: 04:00 22 Sep 2026 EDT Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF) shares jumped as much as 10.6% to an intraday high of 338p after stronger margins lifted first-half profit and prompted the B&Q and Screwfix owner to upgrade its annual guidance. Peel Hunt retained its 'add' recommendation and 350p price target, which stood around 3.6% above Tuesday’s session high. Total sales increased 2.6% during the first half, with constant-currency growth of 1.6% and like-for-like sales edging 0.1% higher. Adjusted profit before tax rose 10% to £404 million, while adjusted earnings per share advanced 16% to 17.8p. Peel Hunt said the improvement was driven largely by a 70-basis-point expansion in the gross margin. Kingfisher ended the period with approximately £310 million of net cash and maintained its interim dividend at 3.8p per share. The retailer also continued to make progress against its strategic targets. Trade sales excluding Screwfix grew 16%, while Screwfix itself delivered like-for-like growth of 5.6%. Trade customers now account for 31% of group sales. E-commerce sales increased 16%, lifting online penetration to 22% of group sales. Gross merchandise value generated through Kingfisher’s online marketplaces rose 42%, producing a profit contribution of £13.4 million, almost double the previous year. Management raised its annual adjusted profit forecast to between £595 million and £635 million, compared with its previous range of £565 million to £625 million. Free cash flow guidance was lifted to between £480 million and £520 million from £450 million to £510 million. Peel Hunt described the changes as upgrades of approximately 5%. The broker said Kingfisher was delivering growth despite subdued conditions across the home-improvement market, particularly in big-ticket categories, where sales declined 4.5% during the first half. Before Tuesday’s jump, the shares had fallen 4% since the start of the year but gained 8% over the preceding three months. Using a 302p reference price, Peel Hunt valued Kingfisher at approximately 11.5 times forecast calendar 2027 earnings and five times enterprise value to underlying earnings. The broker also calculated a free-cash-flow yield of around 9% and a dividend yield of approximately 4%. Continue reading