Best of the Brokers for 19 February 2013
ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS
UBS has a buy rating on the clothing-to-sugar conglomerate and has raised its target price from 1,705p to 2,000p as currency tailwinds lift the firm. The broker also expects Primark to accelerate further this year, which combined with lower restructuring costs in grocery and ingredients should help deliver double digit earnings growth in 2013.
WM MORRISON
WM Morrison’s decision to buy 49 ex-Blockbuster stores, following on from their purchase of seven ex-Jessops stores, could not save the supermarket from being downgraded to “sell” by Shore Capital. Shore said recent poor trading figures, which prompted the rating cut, were not down to Morrison’s lack of presence online or in convenience stores but deficiencies in its core business.
DARTY
N+1 Singer boosted its recommendation on Darty, the electronics retailer, to “buy”, after a 30 per cent slump in the firm’s share price since the third quarter last year. Though the broker also slashed its target price over that period, by nine per cent, the bigger fall in the share price leaves space for appreciation to the current 60p target.