Tuesday tips round-up: Bunzl, Asos, Pennon

19th Jan 2010 06:42

Boring it may be, but Bunzl ? the distributor of carrier bags, plastic cutlery, protective masks and thousands of other disposable items for grocers, cleaners and caterers ? is one of the stock market's best barometers. Left to its own devices, its sales can be relied upon to grow just ahead of GDP, the Times says.Unlike other support services stalwarts, Bunzl does not have the comfort of an order book: it sells this week what its customers used the week before. But a long track record of meeting or beating forecasts, and a modest valuation ? 11 times current-year earnings at yesterday's 639½p ? make the shares a buy, the paper adds.The lack of profit upgrades yesterday does not mean that online fashion retailer Asos's projected long-term growth will be any slower than before. International sales were up 102 per cent and now account for one quarter of the total ? and may sustain that momentum, given plans to launch a dedicated American website this year. At 434½p, or 23 times this year's earnings, Asos may look dear, but not once a forecast 30 per cent-plus growth is factored in. Hold on says the Times.While a yield approaching 4.2% and a growing dividend is attractive, water utility Pennon shares are now starting to look on the expensive side, with a prospective multiple of 15.6 times full-year forecast earnings. Pennon is a solid operation, but now looks to be a good time to book some of the gains made on this stock and recycle them into something a little more racy. Take profits says the Independent.Xcite Energy, the AIM-listed explorer that owns the licence to Bentley, one of the North Sea's biggest undeveloped fields of heavier-grade oil saw its shares rose more than 16-fold last year. On most measures, they still look inexpensive. The difficulty is that Xcite still needs to drill an additional well if it is to meet its target of first oil by summer next year, suggesting that a $40m fundraising is required. However, the presence of Statoil, of Norway, near by raises the prospect of shared costs ? or an eventual bid. At 56p, this is worth a punt says the Times.Capital and Regional, the specialist property investment company trades on an 11% discount to estimated net asset values for 2009. But that gap widens to a yawning chasm - 38% - when set against the estimates that Evolution Securities has come up with for 2011. That's an enormous discount and suggests there is some real value to be had in these shares. Buy says the Independent.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.