BG Group saw its value fall by more than 18 per cent today when markets opened, on the back of production growth downgrades for 2012 and 2013. Growth for this year was revised down to 3 per cent, and the company expects it to be flat next year.
At the time of writing, its share price was down 15.61 per cent for the day at £11.22 a share.
More than 250 funds include BG Group in their top-10 holdings, making it one of the most popular stocks with managers in the entire unit trust and OEIC universe.
According to FE Analytics, of the 292 portfolios in the UK All Companies sector, 138 – or 47.2 per cent – hold the company in their top-10.
Among the biggest admirers of British Gas is star manager Michael Clark, whose five crown-rated Fidelity Enhanced Income fund has a 5.2 per cent exposure to the stock.
Funds with British Gas in their top-10
| Name | Exposure (%) |
| Fidelity - UK Growth | 6.7 |
| BlackRock - UK | 5.3 |
| Fidelity - Enhanced Income | 5.2 |
| JOHCM - UK Growth | 3.2 |
| AXA - Framlington UK Select Opportunities | 2.8 |
Source: FE Analytics
FE Alpha Manager Leigh Harrison’s Threadneedle UK Equity Income fund also has more than 5 per cent in BG Group, alongside BlackRock UK, Fidelity UK Growth and Majedie UK Opportunities.
The £3.3bn AXA Framlington UK Select Opps fund – one of the most popular portfolios with UK advisers – is another that includes the stock in its top-10.
However, it is a particularly diversified portfolio and has only 2.8 per cent of assets invested in the stock.
Liontrust Special Sits and JOHCM UK Opportunities – both five crown-rated – also have significant positions.
BG Group is also well represented in the investment trust universe, making a top-10 appearance in 13 closed-ended portfolios, including Mark Barnett’s Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust and Richard Buxton’s Schroder UK Growth trust.
Performance of stock and index over 1-yr
Source: FE Analytics
BG has had a tough year already. It is down 5.52 per cent over the 12-month period, even before this recent fall was taken into account.
However, in spite of the bad news, The Share Centre still recommends BG as a "buy".
Helal Miah, investment research analyst at the firm, thinks positive indicators still outweigh the negatives.
"[Today’s losses are] a result of the shutdown of the Elgin and Franklin fields in the North Sea, production cutbacks in the US due to very low gas prices, the deferral of the start-up of the Jasmine project to 2013 and lower production estimates in regions such as Egypt," he explained.
"Although the production guidance for 2013 is very disappointing, we continue to recommend investors buy BG Group as some of its key growth projects, such as those in Brazil and Australia, remain unchanged."
"The fall in share price may represent a buying opportunity for investors willing to take on some additional risk. BG Group offers investors good long-term growth potentials," he finished.