BEST of the BROKERS
BOOKER
Peel Hunt rates the wholesale retailer “buy” with a target price of 100p ahead of an interim management statement on Wednesday. The broker is expecting to see a two per cent rise in like-for-like sales, excluding tobacco, and sees an opportunity to buy into the shares if the figures end up disappointing the market. Peel Hunt is particularly keen on buying at this stage following Booker’s £140m purchase of Makro in May.
MOTHERCARE
Seymour Pierce rates the high street chain “sell” with a target price of 145p. The broker expects the recent miserable weather to have dented sales at several retailers due to update the market on Thursday, including Kingfisher, Halfords and Sports Direct. But Seymour Pierce expects struggling Mothercare to come off worst, with a nine per cent fall in first quarter UK sales.
AEGIS
UBS has downgraded the media group from “buy” to “neutral” and hiked its target price from 195p to 240p following a £3.15bn takeover offer from Dentsu. The broker thinks the current bid price of 240p per share appears to fully value the firm and expects the deal to close in spite of some rival interest. UBS also points out that, due to very little client and geographical overlap, the deal is unlikely to have anti-trust problems.