LONDON, March 12, 2026, 17:09 GMT
Shares of Kingfisher Plc slipped again on Thursday, dropping 1.8% to finish at 307.6 pence. The B&Q and Screwfix parent has now shed 10.4% across five sessions, and the tally from the February 27 high comes to roughly 17%.
This shift lands right before Kingfisher’s full-year results on March 24, adding a wrinkle as investors eye a cooling housing sector and start focusing again on demand signals. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, in a Thursday update, flagged that the UK housing market has slowed—new buyer enquiries just hit their lowest since December. Concerns about sticky mortgage rates are mounting, with energy cost shocks fueling those fears.
London felt the strain too. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.4% by 1057 GMT, with crude oil snapping back to $100 a barrel following attacks on tankers in Iraqi waters. AJ Bell’s Danni Hewson flagged the risks: a prolonged disruption spells heavier blows for “energy prices and in turn global inflation.” Reuters
Brokers are backing away from the gloom, though bullish conviction is still missing. On Thursday, AlphaValue/Baader Europe lifted Kingfisher to “add”—a stance tilted toward buying—but at the same time, cut its price target. UBS, a day earlier, kept its neutral call but raised its target for the shares to 315 pence. MarketScreener
Yet the split is still there. As of Dec. 1, Kingfisher’s analyst page listed three buy-type calls, 10 holds, and three sell ratings. That tally suggests investors aren’t unified on the stock.
Trading in the company had settled into a steadier pattern before this month’s sharp drop. Back in November, Kingfisher reported a 0.9% increase in like-for-like sales, lifted by a 3.0% jump in the UK. Chief executive Thierry Garnier at the time reaffirmed the group’s focus on “driving shareholder returns” and maintaining “discipline on margin and costs.” Kingfisher
Fresh signs of unease are pushing investors to eye the weaker pockets of demand again. Back in March, Kingfisher’s annuals landed with a warning: Reuters noted that sluggish appetite for big-ticket buys—think kitchens and bathrooms—had eaten into profit. Garnier put the blame on tighter government budgets in Britain and France, saying they’d “raised costs for retailers and impacted consumer sentiment in the near term.” Across the Atlantic, Home Depot and Lowe’s echoed the downbeat outlook for 2025, making it clear the pressure isn’t isolated. Reuters
Even so, there’s room for a move in either direction. Back in September, Kingfisher bumped up its full-year forecast after a robust first half. Garnier told Reuters the company was seeing “a resilient consumer in the UK.” Fast forward to this month: Kingfisher wrapped up its 300 million pound buyback. Should that resilience stick, the recent dip might look exaggerated. If it doesn’t, some investors could start to doubt whether the buyback alone can prop things up. Reuters
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