Friday tips round-up: National Grid, Marston's, Invensys

18th May 2012 06:58

Questor in the Telegraph still holds a candle for National Grid, which manages electricity transmission across the UK, while also having interests in the US. The big question is how much the power regulator Ofgem will let it charge its customers in the next regulatory period, but the firm generated profits ahead of expectations in the financial year to the end of March, trades at 12.2 times forward earnings and yields around 6%. Questor says hold until Ofgem's announcement in July.In the Times, Tempus likes pub and brewing company Marston's, which is behind the Pitcher and Piano chain, but also has hundreds of tenanted pubs and makes Hobgoblin beer. Profits reported yesterday were up 14.7% on the prior year after the first six months of the year, although like-for-like sales dropped in April because of the weather. Marston's' strategy is to build new pubs as opposed to making purchases - it gets good returns from this and the stock is only at around 7.7 times 2012 forecast earnings, with a yield at 6%. Not a bad shout although Tempus, perhaps mindful of Eurozone meltdown, is wary of consumer focused investments.Tempus still think Invensys is worth a punt if you can stomach risk. A foul-up over contracts to help build eight nuclear plants in China cost the firm £60m in profits in the financial year to the end of March but the company appears to have taken this on the chin and the stock gained yesterday. The argument for a buy is that there may well be an offer for Invensys from the likes of Siemens or GE, but as Tempus points out, who knows when? For the faint of heart this is a time to sell, for the brave, Invensys is a hold.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.BS