BEST OF THE BROKERS
MAN GROUP
Following Man Group’s interims and management’s upbeat message on an improving industry backdrop, Evolution raised its full-year 2011 earnings per share forecasts by eight per cent to $43.30. The broker has reduced current year forecasts by six per cent. It retained a “buy” on the stock with an increased target price of 400p.
SHANKS GROUP
Royal Bank of Scotland said that Shanks Group’s first-half results were in line with its expectations, with normalised pre-tax profit at £16.5m. The broker said that trading remains difficult but has stabilised, and therefore left its forecasts unchanged for full-year 2010, reiterated its “buy” rating and upped its price target to 135p.
CHEMRING
FinnCap initiated coverage of Chemring with a “buy” rating and a 3,240p target price, noting that the firm continues to announce contract wins that demonstrate that growth has been enhanced over the last two years by acquisitions in Energetics. It said that, despite its recent strong performance, the stock remain attractive.