Friday tips round-up: Big Yellow, Misys, Filtrona

15th Jan 2010 06:41

Big Yellow's basket have had less to enjoy because its shares have slipped by more than 15% since September. The storage company issued its third-quarter trading statement yesterday, saying that revenues and average rents in the three months to the end of December were marginally higher.The company insisted it would reintroduce a dividend in November, adding that while occupancy has fallen in the past two years, the company was well set to take advantage of any growth that might come this year and next. If the dividend does not materialise, sell but for now hold says the Independent.Hilton Food's specialist retail meat-packing business may not be glamorous but it has all the signs of being a real winner for shareholders. Brokers calculate Hilton's price-to-earnings ratio to be 10.4 times, based on estimates for 2010. And with debt falling to just 0.7 times earnings, it has the capacity to expand through acquisition. Buy says the Independent.It has been a long, slow drag for Filtrona. Five years after the mid-cap maker of cigarette filters was spun off from Bunzl, its shares ? unlike those of its former parent ? are stuck stubbornly below their demerger price. Filtrona's failure to spur profit growth through substantial acquisitions is frustrating ? since demerger, it has sold as many businesses as it has bought. However, it is now focused on four higher-margin, cash-generative niches and net debt, now £107m, is falling faster than expected. At 194p, or 11 times earnings, and yielding 4%, the shares have farther to run. Buy says the Times.There was not a lot to like about the womenswear retailer Alexon's trading statement yesterday, which said its same-store sales over the 23 weeks to 9 January fell by 14.3 per cent, largely because of the poor weather. The first three weeks of the period saw like-for-like sales fall by 6.2%. Sell says the Independent.Mike Lawrie, chief executive of Misys, was in an ebullient mood yesterday after presenting first-half results for the banking and healthcare software house. The problem is that, at 209¾p, or 19 times current-year earnings, much of Misys's recovery is already priced into the shares. However, once the implied £1 billion value of the Allscripts stake is stripped out, the rating for the remaining businesses falls to a lowly five times earnings. On the view that Misys will act soon to address that gap, sit tight says the Times.BP shares are trading on a December 2010 earnings forecast of 9.7 times, falling to 8.6 in 2010. Shell shares are trading on a current-year multiple of 8.8 falling to 7.8 in 2011 and yielding 5.7%. Because of future production growth - and a still-attractive dividend yield of 5.6pc - the stance on BP shares remains buy for the yield says the Telegraph. Further drilling success in Nigeria has boosted oil explorer Afren shares this week - but there could well be more good news to come. The shares are up 74% since July compared with a market up 30%. The shares are a buy, but investors must consider the inherent risk involved in the oil exploration industry says the Telegraph.Publisher Mecom's allure is a stable of regional titles that have little or no competition and which draw the majority of sales from subscription rather than casual purchase ? about 97% in the case of the Netherlands. That position augurs well for Mecom's preliminary moves to charge for online content. The more immediate opportunity is to raise the company's operating margins from between 5% and 6% towards double digits ? whether through cutting back office costs, new products or cyclical recovery. At 165¼p, up 35p, or nine times 2010 earnings, hold on says the Times.Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.