Wednesday tips round-up: Michael Page, Meggitt, Ashtead...

7th Mar 2012 06:54

Questor in The Telegraph isn't that keen on recruitment firm Michael Page International. It's made big gains since December on the back of increased hopes for the global economy. On the other hand, it's exposed to Italy and Spain, while banking in the UK is a major part of the business, and that has not performed well of late. The group's still making money (adjusted pre-tax profits up 19.3% year on year) but a lot of expectation seem to surround the 480p price point. Currently at 443p after falling 17% yesterday. Questor doesn't seem interested.Meggitt, the supplier of components to the airline industry gets cleared for takeoff by Tempus in the Times. With both Airbus and Boeing having strong forward order books (especially Airbus), Meggitt is doing very well from the uplift in civil aviation. With a services firm mitigating some risk in case orders slow and trading at just 11.5 times 2012 earnings Tempus pulls open the throttle and says: buy.The construction equipment hiring firm Ashtead is also given a positive gloss. Getting most of its revenue from the US, one might have thought it would have suffered from the downturn in construction. In reality builders are unwilling to fork out for their own equipment, so are hiring instead. Great news for Ashtead, which has seen big growth in revenues. Trading at 16 times earnings, Tempus thinks, over the long term, the stock could build from there.Tempus also takes a brief look at Betfair with listed in 2010 but has fallen 43% since then. Trading at 19 times earnings and with the slight air of a revolving door in the boardroom, not to mention big regulation and tax changes for online betting, Betfair is a leave.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.