Broker Recommendations
Broker tips: The Restaurant Group, Standard Life Aberdeen
RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of Restaurant Group at 'outperform' with a 200p price target on Thursday, as it said the company has been "transformed" by the acquisition of Wagamama, which completed at the end of November.
Broker tips: National Grid, CVS Group
National Grid looks the most attractive of the utilities stocks listed in London, said Barclays as it initiated coverage on the sector with the view that water companies are "fair value".
Broker tips: British American Tobacco, DS Smith, Electrocomponents, Halma, Diploma
Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded British American Tobacco from 'neutral' to 'overweight' on Tuesday, noting the industry giant's valuation appeared "attractive" at current levels.
Broker tips: On the Beach, Vodafone, National Express
Analysts at Jefferies initiated coverage on British travel retailer On the Beach on Monday, hitting the group with 500p target price on 'buy' rating straight out of the gate.
Broker tips: Fuller, Smith & Turner, Fresnillo, ITV
Peel Hunt upgraded its recommendation on Fuller, Smith & Turner on Friday and lifted the price target to 1,250p from 1,150p after the company agreed to sell its entire 200-year old brewery business to Japan's Asahi for an enterprise value of £250m.
Broker tips: Crest Nicholson, Reckitt Benckiser, Auto Trader
Redburn cut its stance on Crest Nicholson to 'neutral' from 'buy' on Thursday as part of a broader note on UK housebuilders.
Broker tips: Centrica, Metro Bank, FTSE 100 'top ten' sells
Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded energy and services outfit Centrica to 'neutral' on Wednesday, expecting a rough time for the firm's share price throughout February.
Broker tips: Wood Group, Aggreko, St James's Place, IAG
Wood Group was downgraded by Exane BNP Paribas, where analysts raised concerns over the energy services company's accounting.
Broker tips: Antofagasta, Coats Group, RWS, Easyjet
Shares in Chilean copper miner Antofagasta were proving resilient on Friday in the face of a downgrade to 'sell' from 'neutral' by Goldman Sachs, which slashed its price target to 700p from 850p as it argued that the stock's valuation is stretched following the recent rally.
Broker tips: LSE Group, Next
Analysts at Berenberg reiterated their 'buy' rating on the London Stock Exchange Group on Monday, saying it was "well placed" to exploit two of the most "robust structural trends in the finance industry".
Broker tips: Sage, Dixons Carphone, NMC Health, UDG Healthcare, Hikma Pharma, Dechra Pharma
UBS downgraded software group Sage to 'sell' from 'neutral' on Friday, cutting the price target to 520p from 590p as it said the risk-reward was unfavourable and strategic questions remain.
Broker tips: Cranswick, Burberry, Ted Baker, Merlin Entertainments
Analysts at Liberum upgraded UK food producer Cranswick to 'buy' on Thursday after the group's recent 20% drop had brought its shares back below its five-year price/earnings ratio for the first time in two years.
Broker tips: Vodafone, BHP, Auto Trader
Vodafone shares fell again on Wednesday as Macquarie warned the telecoms group is "structurally challenged" with long-term risks to cash flow forecasts.
Broker tips: Electrocomponents, Ryanair, Ashtead, Vodafone
Electrocomponents surged on Tuesday as Jefferies upped the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and UBS pushed it up to 'buy' from 'neutral'.
Broker tips: Petrofac, Centrica, Hargreaves Lansdown, St James's Place, Standard Life Aberdeen
Jefferies energy analyst team giveth and it taketh away on Monday, upgrading Petrofac and downgrading Centrica.
Broker tips: Glencore, Whitbread, Next
Analysts at UBS lowered their target price on mining giant Glencore on Friday as a result of an uncertain macro environment in the Democratic Republic of Congo following its recent presidential elections.
Broker tips: Next, Asos, Costain
Analysts at RBC Capital said Next's trading update was "slightly mixed" but that recent share price weakness meant any short-term negative news had already been factored in.
Broker tips: Intu Properties, Smith&Nephew
Analysts at HSBC slashed their target price on stock of Intu Properties, pointing to the two failed takeovers of the shopping centre operator and forced asset sales to reduce its gearing as justification for saying that "a rationale for investing is hard to establish".