BEST OF THE BROKERS
BG GROUP
Deutsche Bank rates the oil explorer “buy” with a target price of £13.34. The broker expects BG to report upstream production growth when it brings out fourth quarter results tomorrow, with a predicted 12 per cent rise in profit for the division. DB also forecasts stellar reserves growth given recent finds in Tanzania and China.
SCHRODERS
RBS rates the asset manager “buy” with a £21 target price. The broker forecasts operating profit of £391m when the firm reports its full year figures in March – a 106 per cent year on year rise. It also sees a 6.2 per cent rise in fourth-quarter assets under management, and a two to four per cent jump in earnings per share.
BARCLAYS
JP Morgan Cazenove rates the bank “neutral” with a target price of 320p. The broker expects the bank to post underlying income of £30.3bn for 2010, with 26.1p earnings per share. It hopes to see significant restructuring of Barclays Capital, which JPM expects to report disappointing fourth-quarter results.