Sunday share tips: Sainsbury's, Shire, Pennant International

4th May 2014 13:43

Sainsbury's is best placed to weather the supermarket price war but shareholder returns may be small, Danny Fortson wrote in the Sunday Times. In his Inside the City column, Fortson argued that Sainsbury's was positioned to cope with the squeeze on the big grocers by German value chains Aldi and Lidl on one side and Waitrose at the posher end of the market. Bernstein analysts say Sainsbury's has the longest established and best executed strategy. Tesco and Morrisons look "pretty desperate" Fortson said. "Some wars, of course, simply aren't worth fighting," Fortson concluded.Shire remains a buy in Questor's book. The Sunday Telegraph share tipper pointed to the pharmaceutical group's strong first-quarter performance, announced last week. Two of its main lines of business - depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - are big business. The dividend yield is just 0.5% but Shire is a growth company and the shares are up 25% in the last six months after Questor tipped them last October. There are reports that Allergan of the US could make a bid approach but Questor said that was a distraction from the long-term growth story.Buy shares in Pennant International, the Mail on Sunday's Midas column said. The company trains the people who use and maintain the armed forces' equipment. Military kit has become more computerized and complex and users need to know how to operate it and what to do when things go wrong. Its customers include the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems and AugustaWestland. The company has room for international growth and its Chief Executive will tell its story to big investors in the next few weeks. Despite slight concerns about the board make-up, take a punt, Midas said.Sell shares of N Brown, Questor advised in Sunday Telegraph. The new Chief Executive, Angela Spindler, thinks the online seller of large-sized clothes can grow by opening UK stores and expanding in the US but Questor is concerned about current trading. The shares have more than doubled in the last two years and with growth slowing and the profit margin showing signs of shrinking it is prudent to take profits.Central Asia Metals shares have nearly doubled since the Mail on Sunday's Midas tipster recommended them nearly two years ago. The Kazakhstan-based copper producer announced profit up 86% to $28m last month and the dividend rose 28%. Investors need to judge whether the risk in the region outweighs the company's performance so far and its prospects. Midas advised shareholders to sell half their stock but keep the rest.SF