'More Zzz than X Factor' at ITV, says Investec

14th May 2014 11:04

Investec has sounded a cautious note on ITV, saying that some may have expected more from the terrestrial broadcaster with its first-quarter update.The broker maintained a 'hold' stance on the shares with a 195p target price, saying that the stock's valuation "looks quite full versus media peers".In a research report titled 'More Zzz than X Factor', Analyst Steve Liechti said that the first-quarter statement "looks OK with the NAR [net advertising revenues] comment more or less as we expected".However, he said: "Some bulls may have wanted more and we note the SOCI [share of commercial impacts] share is poor while Studios was hit in the first quarter by programme phasing and foreign exchange."Liechti said he does not expect to change his full-year forecasts for ITV at this stage.He noted that the stock trades at around 15 times estimated earnings for 2014 with a dividend yield of 2%.ITV's shares were down 5.2% at 181.06 by 11:16.BC