Foxtons shares put in an uneven performance last week amid rumours that the firm could be a takeover target.

The shares went up 5.06% to finish at 208p on Thursday after Barclays restated an “underweight” rating, but slipped the following day by 1.68% to finish at 204p.

First tipped in Property Week for a takeover, the magazine said at the weekend that it “appears the talk is getting louder”.

A number of City analysts have recently commented on Foxtons with one rating the stock as a “sell”, three a “hold” and three a “buy”.

The stock has an average rating of “hold” with an average target price of 244p.

Foxtons’ shares have been as high as 402p in the last year and as low as 142p.

The firm issued a profits warning at the end of last month, saying profits for last year are likely to fall from £49.6m to £46m. But of course, that’s still highly profitable at almost £1m profit per branch as Foxtons has 51 offices.

Foxtons floated on the stock market in the summer of 2013.