Share tips: Morrisons, Hays, Chapel Down

25th Aug 2013 14:19

Add Morrisons to your basket of investments for a solid defensive stock, the Telegraph's Questor column advised. The supermarket group has filled the online gap in its service by teaming up with internet grocer Ocado and tight control of meat production meant it was not affected by the horsemeat scandal. The shares yield a bank-beating 4% and with UK economic prospects brightening it is a good time to buy.Buy Hays, the Sunday Times's Danny Fortson advised. The white-collar recruiter's UK business is picking up outside London and economists will have their ears open to what Alistair Cox, Chief Executive, says when he unveils annual results on August 29th. Weakness in Australia has kept operating profit projections below last year's £128m but the shares have room to rise, trading at a lower multiple to rivals Page Group and S Three.English Winemaker Chapel Down is growing fast and getting attention round the world, the Mail on Sunday's Midas column said. Pre-tax profits jumped from £85,000 to £414,000 between 2010 and 2012 even with two wet summers intervening. A hot 2013 summer and new investment mean things are further on the up. Chapel Down is buying new vineyards and expanding production of its award-winning Curious Brew beer. The shares are traded on the small-cap ISDX index and can be bought via stockbrokers. Buy the shares and look forward to growth as well as hefty product discounts if you invest £395 at the current price of at 19¾p.GlaxoSmithKline is a reliable defensive investment, the Telegraph's Questor said. It has had trouble with bribery allegations in China but the US, where business is on the rise, is far more important to Glaxo. Sit back and enjoy the 4.5% dividend yield and await progress on up to 13 new medicines in final-stage testing over the next 12 months. Disposing of peripheral products such as Ribena and Lucozade will bring in more cash to invest in medicines. Shares in Johnston Press have more than tripled in value since November 2011 when Ashley Highfield took over as Chief Executive. After his cost cuts and reorganisation paid off it is hard to know where Britain's biggest local newspaper publisher goes from here, Danny Fortson wrote in the Sunday Times's Inside the City column. Digital revenues were just 6% of turnover last year and progress on that front will be high on the agenda at half-year results on August 28th. Otherwise, investors may have to pin their hopes on industry consolidation.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.