Sunday share tips: J.Sainsbury, Avation, Crest Nicholson

16th Jun 2013 13:31

J Sainsbury seems to have stolen a march on rivals in the first quarter. Yes, like-for-like sales slowed, but the company maintained guidance for growth of 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent over the course of the year. Particularly noteworthy, customers seem to have taken the firm up on its challenge to "taste the difference" in its high-end range of food products, sales of which jumped by 10 per cent. Even more successful has been the firm´s focus on items with solid margins in the non-food category, such as homewares, cooking utensils and greetings cards. For the rest of the year, trading is likely to remain tough, but Sainsbury's management is delivering. Hold, says The Sunday Telegraph´s Questor team. Since listing on the LSE back in 2006 commercial passenger aircraft leasing company Avation´s shares have gone from 4p to 118p in June 2011 and back down to 63.5p at present. In parallel, if in 2000 there were just over 15,000 passenger planes in the world by 2011 the number had increased to 22,000, and by 2030 it is expected to be nearly 40,000. Similarly, over the next two to three years the company wants to increase the value of its fleet to £650m from the current £240m. To date financing such growth has not come cheaply, hence the new share issue carried out in May. However, financing should become cheaper as the company becomes larger and more established. Worth pointing out perhaps, the company´s Chief Executive has bought 1.4m shares in the past two weeks alone, lifting his stake to 17.5%. Take a leaf out of his book and buy, says The Financial Mail on Sunday´s Midas column. Over the long-term, there is a lot to be said for 'tough love.' That certainly holds true for home builder Crest Nicholson. At the height of the financial crisis it was forced to write down the value of its land holdings and projects to their fair-value, unlike competitors such as Bovis Homes. That means the firm has all that much more to gain as the market recovers. Despite that Crest trades at a notable discount to Bovis Homes. As well, nearly all its land bank is in Southern England, where prices are traditionally stronger. It has been a hard old slog. But when Stephen Stone, Crest Nicholson's Chief Executive, reveals maiden half-year results on Tuesday, expect talk of strong house prices and rising construction rates. He has the crisis to thank, says The Sunday Times´s Danny Fortson. 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.AB