Wednesday tips round-up: Vodafone, Grainger, 888

14th Apr 2010 05:56

Vodafone has got a grip on its own costs while grinding out cashflow in Europe and has invested in new internet services to retain customers. It also has enviable positions in growing emerging markets including Africa, where it owns 65pc of Vodacom, which has ambitions to expand further beyond its dominant share of the South African market. With Vodafone's shares offering a healthy 5.4pc yield, they remain a buy, says the Telegraph.Having seen Grainger through the slump, the Independent is confident management can keep it going, and continue make progress. The paper said hold at 145p last year, and the shares have fallen since then. But trading at a discount to what Merrill Lynch describes as its "trough" net asset value (of 145p) Grainger is beginning to look like something of a bargain. Buy.The Independent feels that 888 shares are pricey at 15 times this year's forecast earnings with a prospective yield of just 2.8 per cent. There are more exciting and cheaper opportunities to be had in gaming. Avoid for now.An investment company that is reliant on bank funding to make its returns will not have come through the credit crunch unscathed. Take Intermediate Capital, the FTSE 250 specialist in providing sub-investment grade debt to mid-sized management buyouts. At 294p, the shares trade at less than 11 times current-year earnings and yield 5.8 per cent. Hold, says the Times.At 61½p, down 3p, Oxford Catalysts has fallen by two thirds since being spun out of IP Group four years ago and remains difficult to value. Its key advantage is technology that shrinks the scale of fuel production, enabling plants to operate at locations now out of reach ? at sea, in the case of "stranded" offshore gas. However, given that industrial-scale output is unproven, and commercial uptake often slower than expected, potential investors should sit on the sidelines for now, says the Times.Discover Leisure's shares still trade at a pitifully low level, which suggests that investors are far from convinced it is out of the woods. But for anyone feeling brave, prospects for Discover Leisure, which has net debt of £12.9m, can surely only get better not least because of the growing appetite among Britons for "staycations" in the UK. The stock is a speculative buy for those with a strong stomach, according to 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.