Newspaper and magazine share tips

 

Each week we round up share tips from national newspapers and investment magazines. For the Mail on Sunday's stock picks, read the Midas column.

Newspaper's

Share tips: Get the latest from all the newspapers and magazines.

FRIDAY

The Times

Amec, the FTSE 100 oil services specialist, yesterday unveiled a record £765m year-end war chest – equivalent to nearly half the company's stock market value. At 543p, or less than eight times next year's earnings once the cash is stripped out, hold on.

Shares in Cineworld dipped 4% yesterday and it might be considered more a reflection of how far they had run – up 16%since the start of the year – than any disappointment at yesterday's full-year results. At 116½p, or nine times 2009 earnings, the shares should be held for the yield alone. Hold.

The Telegraph

AMEC posted a solid set of full-year numbers on Thursday – and said that it expected to post better ones for 2009. The shares are yielding 3.2pc, which is not spectacular, but well worth having. AMEC shares are a buy.

Group NBT shares were recommended as a buy in September at 256p and they are now more than 17% lower than their tip price. However, the shares have outperformed the FTSE 100, which is down 28% since that time. The shares are a buy.

THURSDAY

The Times

PartyGaming is building a casino and developing a white-label business that could attract land based Las Vegas operations when the US online gambling ban is repealed. Hopes that a settlement with the US could drive consolidation and herald legislation have sent the shares up more than 40% in this past month. Yet at 248p, or 13 times 2009 earnings, hold on.

Melrose has a very simple strategy - buy it, fix it, sell it. Dire capital markets mean that Melrose must sit on assets longer than it otherwise might but at 60p, up 6½p, or four times 2009 earnings, the shares are cheap and, with a 10.6% yield, investors are getting paid while they wait. Buy on weakness.

The Telegraph

Intertek is one company to keep on your radar - this week's were excellent, beating consensus expectations by around 8%. It posted revenues in excess of £1bn, pre-tax profits jumped to £139m and the dividend is now 3.1 times covered. The shares have moved to a multiple of 12.3 times and are yielding just 2.6%. Look for a fall in the share prices before buying at these levels. Hold.

International Power's shares have slipped by about 12% since December but it's still a good dividend play. Profits are expected to fall in 2009 but the company will remain cash generative. The shares are trading on a December 2009 earnings multiple of six times and are now yielding 6.5%. It is covered by earnings around 2½ times. Buy.

Shares Magazine

Admiral shares aren't cheap but earnings momentum and a safe and significant dividend pay out should drive them higher, particularly as results have confirmed the group's model is still working. Pre-tax profits grew 11% and after breaking into several European markets the company also announced plans to enter the US to help boost revenue. Buy.

WEDNESDAY

The Times

Soco International, the mid-cap oil explorer tends to sell the more mature parts of its portfolio rather than those that have yet to prove their full potential. Despite being a canny trader of assets and its growing presence in Central Africa, the shares, at £11.33, may tread water for now. Pass.

SQS, the software testing specialist, could feel an underlying slowdown from reduced corporate spending on new IT systems. However, 2009 has started well, SQS has net cash, a market-leading position and remains independent of the big IT integrators. At 220½p, or seven times 2009 earnings, hold on.

The Daily Telegraph

Kier Group certainly has a lot going for it. It's just unfortunate that the current market climate is not one of them. However, Kier is one of best positioned businesses in its sector to ride the downturn. When the company's cash is taken into consideration the valuation does not look that steep and the shares are a buy for investors with an appetite for risk. Buy.

Antofagasta is the world's largest international copper-producing company. The shares rallied after the company announced a special dividend of 48 cents, bringing the full year dividend to 60 cents. The company can do this because it has a lot of cash on its balance sheet. For now, the shares are a hold.

Tuesday

The Times

Shares in Hiscox, the Lloyd's of London insurer have outperformed the stock market by 83% over the past 12 months. This is despite disappointing full year results, where pretax profits were down 56% to £105m. At 282½p, or seven times 2009 earnings, and yielding 5%, the shares have farther to run. Avoid.

Spirax Sarco, the maker of steam pumps and controls, now draws fewer than 10% of sales from the UK for the first time in its 121-year history. Less reassuring was the management's admission that underlying sales in the first two months of 2009 are down 5% on 2008. At 775p, down 32p, or ten times 2009 earnings, the risk of profit downgrades counsels caution. Avoid.

The Daily Telegraph

Revenues at Petrofac, the oil and gas services company, rose 36% to $3.3bn (£2.4bn), with earnings per share up 41% to 77.1 cents. The company expects to post further growth this year and the company's backlog has increased the certainty of earnings all the way out 2011. With the yield on the shares now being more attractive – and seemingly secure – shares in Petrofac are now a buy.

Tullow Oil posts its full-year results on Wednesday. Questor is now looking for any details of the potential of Tullow's Ugandan operations and any indications of how long it will take to monetise. The company is also likely to upgrade its oil reserves and resources. Ahead of Wednesday's results announcement, Tullow Oil shares remain a buy.

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