Broker tips: RBS, BG Group, Carnival, Greencore

28th Jan 2014 11:32

Following the news that RBS has put aside a further three billion pounds to cover new claims, a large number of analysts have maintained their negative views on the stock, recommending investors to sell the shares ahead of the bank's full-year results next month.Analysts at Citi kept their 'sell' recommendation, saying that "additional one-off charges cannot be ruled out [...] and the risk of further political interference ahead of the May 2015 elections should not be underestimated". Nomura maintained its 'reduce' rating for the shares, saying that RBS remains a "challenging complex restructuring story".Analysts across the board have slashed their target prices for BG Group after the oil and gas producer's cautious production guidance on Monday. Credit Suisse joined other major banks by cutting its target price from 1,200p to 1,115p; however, it also raised its rating for the stock from 'underperform' to 'neutral'."At this stage, we take a breather and upgrade BG to 'neutral'; we feel there may be some valuation support."Carnival's share price received a boost on Tuesday from analysts at Numis Securities who raised their recommendation on the cruise operator's stock from 'hold' to 'buy' on the back of positive read-across from sector peer Royal Caribbean.While Carnival said last month that yields for the full year ending November 2014 would be "slightly" lower than the previous year, Numis believes that guidance may be upgraded when it reports first-quarter numbers in March.Greencore is a 'buy', according to Jefferies, after the convenience foods firm reported a "strong start to the year" with growth ahead of forecasts.The stock is trading at 14.5 times full-year earnings, "implying a 22% discount to the European food sector", the broker said as it kept its 275p target price.BC