ANALYST VIEWS: WILL THE BOVIS FIGURES IMPRESS INVESTORS?
KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN
Bovis has weathered the credit crisis relatively well, and is in better shape than many rivals. Despite a broadly positive update, the shares are generally assessed as being ‘up with events’, with rival housebuilders potentially offering better value. As such, market consensus opinion denotes a ‘Hold’.
MARK HUGHES | PANMURE
Although the group has seen a good start to the year with reservations up 11 per cent in the first nine weeks, given the early stage of the year, we maintain our forecasts for now. Our target price rises from 450p to 459p as we move to 2011 multiples, though our recommendation remains ‘Hold’
RICHARD CURR | PRIME MARKETS
Bovis has invested heavily in new land plots, which is a clear sign of confidence, but it is perhaps the reintroduction of the dividend that draws the line in the sand and moves the recovery from ‘tentative’ to ‘solid’. We believe the shares offer an attractive sector play at current levels.