London, February 16, 2026, 10:45 GMT — Regular session
- Barratt Redrow shed roughly 2.5% in early London trading, slipping alongside a softer UK housebuilder sector.
- UK asking prices stayed flat in early February, according to Rightmove. The company also pointed to the highest number of homes for sale for this time of year in 11 years.
- The builder revealed more buyback moves, as brokers trimmed price targets following last week’s results.
Barratt Redrow (BTRW.L) shares came under pressure Monday, dropping 2.5% to 379.2 pence by 10:45 GMT, after dipping as low as 374.5 pence earlier. Fresh UK housing numbers signaled a post-January stall, and analysts cut their targets on the FTSE 100 homebuilder. (London South East)
Why it matters now: Spring is crunch time for housebuilders’ earnings, with pricing trends able to shift fast toward discounts and margin squeeze. Rightmove reported asking prices on newly listed UK homes held steady over the four weeks to Feb. 7, following a record 2.8% surge previously. The property website also flagged the stock of homes for sale as the highest for this point in the year since 2013. (Reuters)
It’s a tricky balance: more options for buyers, but prices aren’t really moving. That kind of setup can make the sector jittery, as investors watch to see how much builders can drive up sales before they’re forced to trim prices.
Barratt Redrow disclosed another round of buybacks, picking up 140,000 shares for cancellation on Feb. 13 as part of its £50 million repurchase effort. That brings the cumulative total to 4.17 million shares, with a volume-weighted average price landing at 384.8093 pence. (London South East)
Broker commentary piled on. Deutsche Bank now sees a 454 pence target, down from its earlier 536 pence, though it sticks with a buy call. The bank shaved profit estimates, blaming a tougher trading environment and the impact of ongoing building-safety remediation. Its note highlights a £1.3 billion provision standing and lifts the discount rate used for future cash flow calculations to 10%, up from 8%. (Investing)
More reductions came in. Citigroup dropped its price target to 490 pence from 506 pence, while Goldman Sachs trimmed to 440 pence from 445 pence. Both, though, stuck with their buy ratings, Alliance News said in a broker summary. (MarketScreener)
The stock continues to process last week’s interim numbers, with the company slashing its interim payout and posting a 13.6% drop in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit—build costs have outpaced house price growth. “We don’t need significant house-price inflation to maintain margins,” chief executive David Thomas told Reuters at the time. (Reuters)
With supply climbing, investors are eyeing whether builders will ramp up sales incentives—and if spending on remediation ends up squeezing shareholder payouts. Mortgage affordability and buyer confidence remain flashpoints for the sector as spring approaches.
The risks are well known. Should the bigger inventory start forcing deeper discounts, builders could lose pricing power quickly, pushing margins lower—cost pressures haven’t gone away.
Barratt Redrow’s fiscal Q3 trading update lands April 15—the next event marked on the calendar. Shareholders eyeing the interim dividend should note the April 7 record date, with payment set for May 15, according to company filings. (Barrattredrow)
