Broker tips: Sainsbury's, Lonmin, Wolseley

17th Mar 2015 11:13

Sainsbury's surpassed City expectations on Tuesday with a less-than-feared fall in like-for-like (LFL) sales in its fourth quarter, though that wasn't enough to change Shore Capital's 'sell' rating on the stock.The broker said: We continue at this stage to forecast falling [profits] over the next two years and we look for an end to the downgrade cycle before re-visiting our recommendation on Sainsbury's shares."Citigroup has lifted its recommendation for platinum miner Lonmin from 'neutral' to 'buy', saying it sees substantial upside after a recent plunge in the share price.The stock has dropped 36% since 10 February alone - from 172p to 110p - after Glencore announced it would sell its 24% stake in the platinum miner. The drop has taken the shares to a price which now offers 29% upside to Citi's new target price of 145p, down from 187p previously due to the platinum price fall and re-evaluation of costs.Shares in Wolseley were retreating on Tuesday after solid gains the previous day, though analysts at UBS hiked their target price for the stock and gave a positive outlook ahead of the plumbers and builders merchant's interim results next week.The bank lifted its target for the shares from 3,980p to 4,500p and retained a 'buy' rating, saying it expects Wolseley to report "solid" growth in the States when it reports on its half year on 24 March. UBS said: "Going forward, we expect more of the same: a focus on enhancing organic growth, small bolt on M&A and cash returns to shareholders."