Broker tips: Housing stocks, Reckitt Benckiser, Majestic Wine

10th Apr 2015 11:34

Housebuilders were putting in decent gains on Friday as Jefferies upgraded ratings for stocks across the sector after recent data pointed to a stronger pre-election housing market than anticipated.The broker raised Bellway, Bovis Homes, Countrywide, Crest Nicholson, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Zoopla from 'hold' to 'buy'. Barratt Developments, Berkeley and Persimmon were lifted from 'underperform' to 'hold'.Shares in Reckitt Benckiser rose after receiving a boost by analysts at UBS who upgraded their rating on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold'.UBS analysts said that in a sector they have turned increasingly more cautious on, Reckitt Benckiser is the favourite pick, raising their target price on the stock to 6505p from 5500p.Majestic Wine's share price weakened on Friday after the announcement that it will buy rival Naked Wines for £70m, though analysts at Investec hailed the deal, saying it will open up the retailer's growth potential.Investec, which upgraded the stock from 'hold' to 'buy', said the additional appointment of Naked Wine's boss Rowan Gormley as Majestic's new chief executive, will also give the business a boost.