Broker tips: Morrison, Aviva, Wood Group
8th Mar 2012 12:11
Morrison is 'delivering for shareholders again', according to Jefferies which has reiterated its buy recommendation and 350p target price for the supermarket retailer this morning. The US broker says that Morrison's final results look strong, with profits before tax (PBT) of £935m coming in ahead o
Read moreLondon midday: Momentum continues as BoE stays put
8th Mar 2012 11:43
- BoE maintains interest rates and asset purchases. - Greek debt-swap participation rate estimated at 60 percent. - Miners lift the Footsie higher. The earlier momentum had continued by lunchtime after the Bank of England announced that it has decided to maintain its interest rates at 0.5 percent,
Read moreBroker snap: Aviva still a buy but not a top pick, says Nomura
8th Mar 2012 09:54
Nomura has reiterated its buy rating and 630p target price on insurance giant Aviva, after its full-year results showed 'good earnings and improving solvency'. Full-year earnings were better than expected with IFRS operating profit of £2,503m beating consensus estimates of £2,414m and operational c
Read moreThursday broker round-up - UPDATE
8th Mar 2012 09:31
Admiral: Nomura raises target from 1,100p to 1,300p, buy rating kept; Collins Stewart ups target from 975p to 1,110p, hold rating kept; Credit Suisse reiterates outperform rating and 1,300p. Afren: UBS raises target from 140p to 150p, buy rating maintained. Amlin: Jefferies raises target from 317p
Read moreLondon open: Markets await news from Greece
8th Mar 2012 08:34
- Greek debt-swap participation rate estimated at 60 percent. - Markets await policy decisions from BoE, ECB. - ARM rises after iPad launch, Morrison jumps on strong 2011. London's blue chip index continued its strong performance ahead of policy decisions from the Bank of England (BoE) and the Euro
Read moreLondon pre-open: Hopes of Greek debt swap boost sentiment
8th Mar 2012 07:28
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 14 points from yesterday's close of 5,791, as investors gain confidence on reports that Greece is continuing to edge closer to the 75% participation in the debt swap deal. Supermarket giant Morrison boasted that it has 'delivered in a challenging ye
Read moreAviva raises targets after resilient showing in 2011
8th Mar 2012 07:02
The full year 2011 results announcement from insurance giant Aviva runs to 208 pages but so far as the group is concerned, the year can be summarised as one of good progress in which Aviva beat all of its operating targets. As is usually the case with huge multi-national companies, the accounts are
Read moreThursday preview: Aviva, Schroders, Morrisons, BoE
7th Mar 2012 18:04
As per usual, Thursday is the busiest day of the week for company announcements, with the added excitement this week of the Bank of England making its interest rate and asset purchasing policy announcement at midday. Not that many people are expecting the Bank to do anything other than maintain the
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
7th Mar 2012 08:33
John Wood: HSBC downgrades to underperform from neutral. Aquarius Platinum: Panmure Gordon upgrades to buy from sell. Lonmin: Panmure Gordon upgrades to buy from sell. Admiral: Nomura maintains buy rating and 1,100p target. Anglo American: AlphaValue upgrades to buy from add and lowers pri
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura downgrades RSA to neutral
24th Feb 2012 10:50
Nomura has downgraded insurance group RSA from buy to neutral given the lack of a catalyst in yesterday's full-year results. "Our original investment thesis was predicated on RSA being a quality defensive stock. This still holds true, but we persisted with our buy in spite of the rally as we looked
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, UK insurers, Yell
14th Feb 2012 11:25
UBS has raised its target price for UK lender Barclays by 21% but has maintained its neutral rating on the stock, saying it is "well-positioned but under-earning." The uplift in the target price, from 199p to 240p, reflects the improvement in tangible net asset value from the BlackRock revaluation
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
14th Feb 2012 10:40
British Land: Credit Suisse downgrades to neutral from outperform, target cut to 532p from 560p. Barclays: UBS raises target from 199p to 240p, neutral rating kept. Shore Capital upgrades to neutral from sell. Exane BNP upgrades to overweight from neutral. Standard Life: Nomura raises target from
Read moreBroker snap: L&G offers better value than peers, says Nomura
14th Feb 2012 09:56
Nomura has highlighted Legal & General (L&G) as its preference in the UK insurance sector, saying that it has higher cash yields than peers Aviva, Prudential and Standard Life. "We estimate that L&G still has the highest cash yield of 10% in the sector, measured against our FY 2011 cash earnings fo
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks and miners weigh footsie down
30th Jan 2012 13:18
The banks were in the red as the euro crisis drags on, with Lloyds, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) among the worst performers. Lloyds is rumoured to be shaking up its management structure, according to the Financial Times. Sources quoted by Reuters indicate that an announcement
Read moreAviva reduces eastern European presence
30th Jan 2012 12:30
Norwich-based insurance giant Aviva is to reduce its presence in eastern Europe as it continues with its strategy of focusing on markets where it has strength and scale. The company is to sell Aviva Czech Life, Aviva Hungary Life and Aviva Romania Life & Pensions to US life assurance firm MetLife.
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