Broker tips: Tate and Lyle, Petropavlovsk, TUI Travel

29th Mar 2012 11:33

Investec has maintained its sell rating for sugar and sweeteners group Tate and Lyle but raised its target price for the stock from 610p to 640p ahead of tomorrow's fourth quarter trading update.Analyst Martin Deboo said that "[we are] expecting little drama and are soft-pedalling our sell case at an increased target price."He said US corn refining economics are stable-to-improving, with co-product prices rising a bit, which is positive for margins. On the Sweeteners side, he said things are "still sweet" on the back of high sugar prices and a growing buzz around Tate's 'PureFruit' (Monkfruit) new sweetener. UBS has downgraded its recommendation for Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk from buy to neutral after cutting its 2012 gold forecasts substantially."A continuing US recovery, material erosion in Fed QE expectations, rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and questions surrounding the durability of the Fed's low-until-2014 rate pledge all combine to act as the prime culprits that lead us to downgrade our 2012 gold forecast," said analysts Ben Davis and Myles Allsop.To reflect these lower prices and higher guided costs, the broker has cut Petropavlovsk's 2012-14 earnings per share (EPS) estimates by 50-65%. As such, the target price comes down from 1,070p to just 650p.Jefferies has reiterated its buy rating and 300p target price for travel operator TUI Travel following this morning's pre-close trading update, saying that the group is continuing to 'pull away from its rivals'."In the sometimes unpredictable world of tour operating it is reassuring to be able to say once again that we are going to leave our above consensus forecasts unchanged," the broker said.It says that the stock, trading at just 7.9 times earnings, is far too cheap "for the quality of business that is beginning to shine through".BC