Best of the Brokers for 26 September 2014
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VESUVIUS
Numis has downgraded to “hold” from “add”, with the target price maintained at 515p. The broker thinks while steel production continues to grow, European manufacturing shows signs of slowing, and that with little upside catalyst in the short term, shares look at fair value for now.
AMEC
UBS has upgraded to “buy” from “neutral”, with the target price raised to 1,215p from 1,100p. The broker believes the recent acquisition of Foster Wheeler plugs some geographical gaps in Amec’s portfolio, with the company now ready for a step change with a positive restructuring ahead.
FRIENDS LIFE
Canaccord Genuity has upgraded to “buy” from “hold”, and raised the target price to 340p from 300p. The broker thinks Friends Life will meet its cash dividend target in 2015, and expects a share buy-back after the sale of Lombard, but thinks it may need to look at acquisitions ahead.