Broker tips: RBS, GKN, Whitbread

26th Feb 2013 10:57

Nomura has reiterated its 'reduce' rating and 300p target price for UK lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) ahead of the bank's full-year results later this week."We believe the group still faces material uncertainties with respect to deleveraging, asset quality and the future shape of operations, and remain cautiously positioned on the name."Jefferies kept its 'buy' recommendation and 275p target price for engineering group GKN after its 2012 results came in better than forecasts across the board."There is a sound platform for good future growth, in our view. Against a stable demand backdrop, GKN should make very strong progress, in our view."Investec has retained its 'sell' rating and 2,000p target price for Costa coffee, restaurant and hotel owner Whitbread on the back of a like-for-like (LFL) sales miss in the fourth quarter and an unattractive valuation.The broker kept its bearish recommendation on the stock, based on six main points: "1) low free-cash-flow yield; 2) limited cash generation post-investment capex; 3) diminishing marginal long-term hotel returns; 4) negligible capital-light international hotel growth opportunities; 5) a resurgent Travelodge and Starbucks; and 6) premium multiples with a sub-market average dividend yield".BC