Tuesday tips round-up: G4S, SThree, John Menzies

17th Jul 2012 07:00

Questor in the Telegraph takes a timely look at security firm G4S. You may have heard it mentioned recently. The issue for the firm post-Olympic debacle is reputational says Questor. Can G4S continue to win public sector work with the baggage of having ballsed up one of its highest profile contracts? The column is not so sure. The shares trade at 10.6 times earnings with the yield at 3.6%, in other words, superficially the stock looks cheap. But life is about to get very tough indeed for the firm on the sales front so Questor says hold for now.Tempus in The Times is cautious about tech recruitment specialist SThree. It is doing better than its peers, Michael Page and Hays, but the banking sector is very weak, falling to just 5% as a proportion of income, compared to 13% in the prior year. There's no doubt SThree has some things to recommend it, not least an impressive history of paying decent dividends but it currently trades at 22 times earnings, Tempus doesn't think there's much further the stock can go. Leave.The rather odd company, John Menzies, also fails to inspire much enthusiasm from Tempus. It distributes newspapers and magazines and, er, also has an air cargo business. Not natural bedfellows, but not a disaster either. The distribution business brings in the cash to support air cargo, which in itself is a growth area, although currently going through a difficult patch on account of the global economy. The shares are trading at just 8 times forward earnings but Tempus doesn't think they're worth a buy, just a hold.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.BS