Pearson, Bellway, SThree: Best of the Brokers for 14 December 2015
To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to [email protected]
It’s been a bad few days for publisher Pearson, after a whole host of analysts sent the share price down by cutting its profit expectations. Deutsche Bank cut its price target on Pearson shares from 950p to 770p, while Jefferies’ David Reynolds slashed his profit forecast for next year by 15 per cent. Analysts at Liberum have given the company a “sell” rating and a target price of just 640p.
Analysts at Shore Capital have given housebuilder Bellway a rating of “hold” at a target price of 2,700p, following an update from the company. According to Shore Capital, the fall in the rest of the sector from the end of September until the Autumn Statement did restore some value in the peer group and although most volume housebuilders are again trading above fair value, the premium on Bellway is higher.
Small cap recruitment firm SThree has been reaffirmed as a “buy” by analysts at Numis, despite lowering the firm’s target price. Pre-tax profit for the year is expected to come in line with expectations, but additional investment costs throughout 2016 mean estimates have been cut by around five per cent. SThree has also been hit by a fall in the energy markets with its energy division acting as a drag on its wider performance.