LONDON (ShareCast) - This time a year ago Compass, the world’s biggest caterer, warmed the cockles of its shareholders’ hearts with a 500m pound share buyback. Expect history to repeat itself on Wednesday when the company reveals annual results.“Chief executive Richard Cousins is likely, says my man in the canteen, to unleash another 500m pound buying spree,” says The Sunday Times’s Danny Fortson.

This would be more surprising than last time: at the firm’s pre-close statement, Cousins detailed a big restructuring of Compass’s struggling businesses in Spain, Italy and Portugal. That was enough for some to write off the chance of good news. Jefferies, the broker, said: “We see few catalysts in the short term that would result in a material upward rerating for the shares. Indeed, quite the reverse given the trading environment and slowing volumes in Europe.” Yet performance elsewhere — America and emerging markets — may just have been strong enough for Cousins to serve up another tasty morsel. Investors, dig in, writes Fortson.

Directors’ purchases suggest that the people at the top of a firm believe in it. When they sell, it might imply the opposite. In the past quarter, the largest disposal came from Simon Nixon, deputy chairman of price comparison website moneysupermarket.com. He pocketed just over £10m by selling shares at 134p in September. Some brokers have expressed concerns about the company’s prospects since Google launched a rival website in March. Last week, however, Moneysupermarket issued a confident trading statement and said turnover was very strong in the home services division, up 35% in the third quarter against the same period last year as consumers looked for ways to cut energy bills. Nixon apparently sold his shares for tax purposes and he still owns just over 50% of the firm – fortunately for him as the shares are now 153p. Like Nixon, existing investors should keep most of their shares, but the comparison website market is competitive, so potential investors could put their cash to better use elsewhere, The Financial Mail on Sunday’s Midas column writes.

Christopher Mills, chief executive of the North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust, has made a lot of money for himself and followers over the past few years, so what he does with his own cash is worth watching. Last month, he spent almost £1.6m buying 148,734 shares in North Atlantic at between 1020p and 1110p. The shares are now 1170p and should continue to rise over the coming months, writes the Financial Mail on Sunday’s Midas column. North Atlantic invests in quoted and private companies in Britain and America. Quoted businesses include property developer Gleeson, vet group CVS, plastic container firm RPC and Asset Co., which provides fire and rescue services in the Middle East. Choosing good quoted companies requires some stock-picking skills but North Atlantic’s access to unquoted firms offers particular benefits to individual investors. The group is invested in a number of private firms, four of which are either wholly or partially up for sale. Once they are sold, North Atlantic’s shares should rise materially, especially as they are specialist businesses that have grown rapidly in recent years, Midas adds.

AB

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