Barclays downgrades Compass on valuation grounds
Outsourcer Compass was under the cosh on Monday as Barclays downgraded its rating on the stock to 'equalweight' from 'overweight' after 10 years.
Compass Group
2,323.00p
16:59 28/03/24
FTSE 100
7,952.62
17:14 28/03/24
FTSE 350
4,383.21
17:14 28/03/24
FTSE All-Share
4,338.05
16:50 28/03/24
Travel & Leisure
7,949.88
17:14 28/03/24
"We have been long-term supporters of Compass and its relative strengths versus the rest of the sector," it said.
"However, we believe the valuation has now reached levels that make the upside feel more limited on a 12-month view."
Barclays said it was more cautious on the stock in the short term.
"While we expect another excellent quarter of organic growth when the company reports on 15th May (Q2 6.1% versus company-provided consensus of circa 5.5%), we are more negative about margins," it said.
Barclays upped its price target on Compass to 1,850p, from 1,770p.
At 1010 BST, the shares were down 2.4% to 1,749.75.