BEST OF THE BROKERS
RESOLUTION
Citi rates the insurance company a “buy” and has a target price of 367p. The broker has raised its earnings per share forecasts to 30p from 27.8p for the year as a result of the firm’s share buyback, and believes that Resolution will continue to deliver up to £600m capital returns due its over-capitalisation. Citi adds that the firm is one of the best-placed insurance groups for the Solvency II regulations.
BRITVIC
JP Morgan has downgraded the drinks company from “overweight” to “neutral” and has a target price of 440p. The broker thinks the current share price is fully valued and does not expect the company to weather rising costs well until the market can be confident that the commodity price peak is behind us. The downgrade also makes room for peer C&C to join JP Morgan’s “overweight” list.
FERREXPO
Goldman Sachs rates the group a “neutral” and has raised its target price from 460p to 520p. The broker thinks the firm has an attractive growth profile, but believes that market disappointment over a lack of M&A in the coming months might dent its share price. Goldman also notes that its commodities analysts expect a softening of iron ore prices later this year and a drop in 2012, further dulling Ferrexpo’s chance of a share price jump.