BEST OF THE BROKERS
HAMMERSON
Deutsche Bank has maintained its “buy” rating on the property group and raised its target price by 20p to 520p after consensus-beating results from the company last week. The broker estimates that Hammerson will deliver its planned dividend increase in 2012, and increases its earnings per share outlook for 2012 and 2013. It does not see the group’s net asset value falling below 530p during the current year.
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO
Citi has raised its target price on the tobacco giant by 2.5 per cent to £33.30 and maintained its “neutral” outlook, saying results were pretty much as expected, but included elements that the broker sees as important for future years. Citi has raised its earnings per share forecast by around 2.5 per cent, mostly due to a more optimistic outlook in Western Europe over the second half of last year.
MARKS & SPENCER
UBS has upgraded the retailer from “neutral” to “buy” and upped its share price from 325p to 410p, saying that if preliminary results in May show positive signs on returns then the stock should react very positively. The broker has nudged up its like-for-like sales projections for 2012-13 from flat to +1 per cent, and upped its profits before tax forecast by two per cent to £745m.