Barclays upgrades Thomas Cook, says may have reached inflection point

24th Nov 2016 08:38

(ShareCast News) - Barclays upgraded Thomas Cook to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and upped the price target to 90p from 75p following the company's full-year results on Wednesday.It said the absence of any earnings per share downgrades, the re-introduction of the dividend and proactive actions to improve Condor profits suggest Thomas Cook may have reached an inflection point.The bank has been cautious on the stock for two and a half years but noted that margins and cash have improved, with the full-year 2016 results reassuring, while the valuation is attractive.Barclays said the results were a bit stronger than expected, with a beat in terms of underlying earnings before interest and tax, which came in at £308m versus company consensus of £296m and the bank's estimate of £297m.Barclays said that now that the dividend has been reintroduced, there is scope to materially up the payout ratio over the coming years.It pointed out that there are a number of risks to its 'overweight' rating. It highlighted low earnings visibility, with heightened geopolitical risks, intense competition, seasonal cash flow and low margins. In addition, it said UK volumes could soften given sterling weakness and Brexit concerns."Risks are elevated. However, TCG could surprise with resilient margins in FY17."At 0905 GMT, the shares were up 1.8% to 80.45p.