BEST OF THE BROKERS
BANCO ESPIRITO SANTO
Nomura has maintained its negative view on Portuguese banks, but sees Banco Espirito Santo as better placed versus its domestic peers against a possible Portuguese debt restructuring. The broker also says it faces a lower shortfall than others against capital requirements for 2012 issued by both the Bank of Portugal and the EBA. Nomura upgrades the bank to neutral and reduces its target price on the stock to €1.50 from €2.
ESSAR ENERGY
Goldman Sachs has removed the India-focused energy firm from its buy list following a weak set of second-half results from the company and what it sees as an uncertain outlook for the firm’s power business. The broker has re-rated Essar to “neutral” and lowered its target price on the stock from 190p to 134p. Goldman is concerned about low visibility on earnings at the group, as well as high leverage.
COOKSON
UBS rates the materials science firm as “neutral” and raises its target price from 650p to 675p after a better-than-expected finish to the year that showed cyclical fears were mostly unfounded and the business performed well in November and December. The broker has upgraded its estimates by six per cent to reflect higher growth in Advanced Refractories, but wants to see much better cash conversion before it becomes more positive.