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Highlights
- London’s blue-chip firms are preparing to buy their own shares worth £37billion this year, as per investment platform AJ Bell.
- The number of shares to be repurchased this year will be over three times greater than what was repurchased in 2020.
- Energy giants BP and Shell are expected to go for share buyback worth around £9.5 billion this year.
Share buybacks by the top London-listed companies are all set to reach a record-high level this year. According to a recent analysis carried out by the award-winning investment platform AJ Bell, London’s blue-chip firms are preparing to buy their own shares worth £37 billion this year. This figure is much greater than the four-year-old high of £34.9 billion.
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The number of shares to be repurchased this year will be over three times greater than what was repurchased in 2020 when there was enormous market uncertainty and firms were facing huge financial damages. Due to the impact of the pandemic, several companies couldn’t afford to go for share buybacks, and some of them delayed their buyback plans.
RELATED READ: Prince Charles hints at easing energy bills, should you eye these stocks?
Energy giants BP and Shell are expected to go for share buyback worth around £9.5billion this year. Both these companies have witnessed substantial growth over the past year, mainly due to soaring oil and gas prices. Recently, both the companies have declared record-high quarterly profits and are thus facing the threat of a windfall tax. The UK Government is planning to levy the windfall tax on these oil giants to reduce the burden on the UK households struggling with soaring energy bills.
Other blue-chip firms like British American Tobacco, Diageo, Unilever, Lloyds, etc. are also planning to go for share buybacks this year. Let’s look at the share price performance of 3 of these blue-chip stocks.
Shell plc (LON: SHEL)
The shares of the prominent British oil industry firm Shell plc were up by 2.73% at 2:43 PM (GMT+1) on 11 May 2022, at GBX 2,294.50. The FTSE 100 index constituent has provided its shareholders with a return of 61.73% over the last year as of 11 May 2022. The current market cap of the company stands at £167,464.96 million.
BP plc (LON: BP.)
The shares of the oil and gas supermajor BP plc were up by 3.37% at 2:45 PM (GMT+1) on 11 May 2022, at GBX 418.60. The FTSE 100 index constituent has provided its shareholders with a return of 32.67% over the last one year as of 11 May 2022. The current market cap of the company stands at £79,032.31 million.
RELATED READ: FTSE 100 bounces back, windfall tax demand weighs down oil stocks
British American Tobacco plc (LON: BATS)
The shares of the leading cigarettes manufacturer British American Tobacco plc were up by 1.09% at 2:48 PM (GMT+1) on 11 May 2022, at GBX 3,343.50. The FTSE 100 index constituent has provided its shareholders with a return of 18.42% over the last one year as of 11 May 2022. The current market cap of the company stands at £75,198.25 million.
