Berenberg ups target price on GVC

Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on bookmaker GVC Holdings from 850.0p to 900.0p on Friday, stating the group was "well positioned" to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic as "a winner".

Berenberg said it had been of the view that the gambling sector as a whole was poised for a V-shaped recovery since the beginning of the pandemic, and that relative winners would be those that can endure the current disruption without affecting their ability to bounce back.

"We believe GVC is positioned to be a relative winner," said the analysts.

"Operational performance continues to be best in class, the mitigating actions the company is taking will not be detrimental to the ongoing business or its ability to bounce back, and liquidity remains robust."

The German bank, which reiterated its 'buy' rating on the firm, also forecast that GVC's dividend would be reinstated at the release of its 2020 results in March 2021.

"We expect this dividend to be in line with the FY19 cancelled dividend, equating to 17.6p per share and £103m of cash returned to shareholders."