- Goldman Sachs cuts Haleon target price
- Investec upgrades Hill & Smith to ‘buy’
- Jefferies reduces Vodafone target price
- Shore Capital upgrades Informa to ‘buy’
- HSBC upgrades Beazley to ‘buy’
Goldman Sachs has cut its Haleon LON:HLN target price to 335p (350p), and reiterated a ‘buy’ recommendation. Haleon, the former consumer health arm of Glaxo Smith Kline, last week reported a 16.1% increase in 3Q revenue, and upped its revenue forecast a second time since splitting from GSK earlier this year. Reflecting ‘positive momentum’, Haleon is now expecting FY22 organic revenue growth of 8.0-8.5% for next year. However, the ongoing Zantac lawsuits in the US continue to worry investors in both Haleon and GSK. Deutsche Bank maintained its ‘hold’ rating and target price (300p) and Barclays confirmed its ‘overweight’ rating, with a new target price of 890p (850p). At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 279.1p, down 8% since its admission to the London Stock Exchange in July.
Investec has upgraded Hill & Smith LON:HILS, a galvanised steel specialist, to ‘buy’ (hold), and dropped the target price slightly to 1,300p (1,400p). Last month, after selling off its French galvanising business, France Galva, the company completed the acquisition of Widnes Galvanising and National Signal, a US solar lighting company. Shore Capital, Peel Hunt and Berenberg also have a ‘buy’ recommendation on the stock. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 1,092p, a return of -38.4% YTD and -40.1% over 12 months.
Jefferies has reduced its Vodafone LON:VOD target price to 100p (122p), reiterating its ‘hold’ recommendation. Shares in the company slumped on news that the telecoms company had lowered its full-year earnings guidance and cut its free cash flow forecast, despite a ‘resilient’ interim performance in a ‘challenging’ trading environment. Management announced a plan to reduce costs by streamlining its structure and focus on the digitalisation of operations. Broker consensus is mixed, with Deutsche on ‘buy’ (215p), Barclays on ‘overweight’ (120p), Berenberg on ‘hold’ (115p) and JP Morgan Cazenove on ‘neutral’ (120p). At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 95.9p, a return of -14.6% YTD and -14.8% over 12 months.
Shore Capital has upgraded publishing group Informa LON:INF to ‘buy’ (hold), with four other brokers raising their target prices for the stock, as Informa announced underlying revenue growth of 41% so far this year and raised its guidance on revenue and adjusted operating profit for next year. UBS (683p), Barclays (700p) and Credit Suisse (740p) all have positive ratings on the stock, while JP Morgan Cazenove (650p) is neutral. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 585.4p, a return of 13.3% YTD and 10.9% over 12 months.
HSBC has upgraded insurer Beazley LON:BEZ to ‘buy’ (hold), raising its target price to 750p (670p), indicating a potential 12% upside. In a trading statement last Friday, Beazley reported a loss of $289m, or 3.6% YTD, as a result of rising interest rates, but gross premiums jumped 22% to $3.98bn and premium rates on renewal business increased by 17%. Overall, the outlook is positive, with the company anticipating “significant future investment returns”. Jefferies also raised its target price for the stock to 825p (670p), with a ‘buy’ rating, while RBC raised its target price to 775p (675p), keeping its ‘outperform’ rating. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 625p, a return of 33.5% YTD and 50.7% over 12 months.
