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Societe Generale rates the landlord “hold” and has raised its 12-month target price by five per cent to 420p. The broker expects the firm’s recent purchase of the Trafford Centre to give a four per cent lift to cash flow and dilute net asset value by around one per cent. It also predicts a realistic rental growth of six per cent over the next three years, well below management expectations of 12 per cent.
AVIVA
UBS rates the insurer “neutral” and has cut its 12-month target price by 40p to 430p. The broker believes that Aviva’s forecast-beating earnings last week were driven by one-off items rather than underlying performance. UBS also notes that the firm’s balance sheet is still stretched, which suggests that dilutive disposals might be in the pipeline, but nevertheless has raised its dividend growth forecast from five to six per cent.
WPP
Goldman Sachs rates the media group “buy” with a target price of £10.55. WPP’s full-year results last week were slightly ahead of the broker’s estimates, implying 8.5 per cent organic growth in the fourth quarter. Goldman believes the group can deliver growth of around seven per cent over the next few years, driven by digital media, with a 0.7 per cent margin improvement this year coupled with small acquisitions or buybacks.