Newspaper and magazine share tips

By This Is Money
Updated: 08:21 EDT, 11 February 2011

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

Round up: The latest share tips from national newspapers and investment magazines

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FRIDAY

Investors Chronicle

Imperial Tobacco increased its market share with an £11bn takeover of Spanish tobacco giant Altadis, taking them into Asian and African markets. This now accounts for 40% of the group's volumes, which climbed 4% in 2010-11's first quarter. In western markets, where sales are declining, Imperial managed to keep a steady share and pushed through a near 4% increase in prices. Buy.

Pub and brewing group Green King saw a 3.9% increase in sales at their managed pubs in the 38 weeks to January 23 and an average 1.9% rise in cash profits per pub. Plans for growth suggest shares may improve this year. The group raised £207m to buy back debt and the remainder has been ploughed into new pubs. The £56m acquisition of food-focused chain, Cloverleaf, has used up the last of that money. Greene King has an impressive track record when it comes to acquisitions. Buy.

The Daily Telegraph

The world's largest spirit group, Diageo, saw a slide in shares of about 5% yesterday following a strong run of late. Owning eight of the top 20 worldwide brands gives the company one of the best portfolios for spirit groups in the world. Organic growth was slightly lower than expected at 4%, but sales in emerging markets are growing considerably, with net sales rising by up to 20%. The company's target growth is significantly low compared to rivals, disappointing the market. The shares are 35% higher than when first recommended in 2009 and the market is up 41%, however, yesterday's statement was poor. Hold.

BT group is now back to the level they were at before 2008's financial crisis. It plans to pump in £525m a year over the next three years to fill the void. Recent third quarter results revealed revenues had fallen 3% year-on-year to £5bn but pre-tax profits rose 30% to £531m. The group also added a net 188,000 broadband subscribers, their best performance in eight years. Shares are yielding a solid 4% rising to 4.5% next year. Buy.

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The Independent

Despite having £3m of charges knocked of its profits yesterday, Hargreaves Lansdown still had an impressive growth of 41% in the half to 31st December with total profits of £56m. Sales should be healthy over the next few months at least, but the trouble is shares reflect that, with a 29 times forecast full-year earning. Buy on any sign of weakness in the shares.

Packaging company Mondi, confirmed profits this year will be 'considerably higher' than last, with basic underlying earnings from 44 to 49 euro cents per share compared with 18.7 cents last time. Being a geographically well positioned company and having an estimated increase in profits despite growing margin pressure from commodity prices suggest that shares can keep growing. Buy.

The Times

Rolls Royce is seeing considerable growth despite recent engine problems with the order book at a record high of £59.2bn. Rolls-Royce is expecting to double its production of large aero engines by 2015. Half of current revenues are in the emerging markets of Asia, South America and the Middle East and are predicted to continue to grow. Although it has invested £6bn over the past 5 years, the company still has a huge £960 in the bank for further investments. Shares have raised 40% over the past year and now sell on 15 tines this years earnings. Buy.

Provider of social networking sites SocialGO, targets small groups such as amateur sports teams. SocialGO have just raised another £1.3m about a tenth of its net worth. With advisors suggesting it's the next Facebook, they clearly have ambition. Buy.

THURSDAY

Shares Magazine

Grafton is joining forces with former BSS boss Gavin Slark, who is set to work his magic on the building merchants. Regardless of the current tough market, second-half sales grew by 3% to €1,020m. And despite 1.1% fall in sales in the half-year results published on August 2010, Grafton moved from an €8.3m operating loss to €14.8m operating profit. Grafton display a strong cashflow and balance sheet. Buy.

Biopharmaceutical Company Oxford Biomedica has funds in place to progress promising developments of many treatments, including those for cancer and Parkinson's. Positive news flow over the next 12 months should take share process higher. Tax losses of £7.8m in 2011 are set to reduce to just £700,000 in 2012. Singer's analyst, Shawn Manning, believes the company can turn profitable as soon as 2014. His 13p price target implies potential upside of 136%. Buy.

The Independent

The market leader for packaging, Smurfit Kappa, suffered a £44m loss in 2009 but has since recovered to become good earners over the past year. Yesterday's full year results showed an impressive 53% profits rise on revenues up by 10%. With a rise in the cost of raw materials, Smurfit Kappa is feeling the pressure. Take profits.

Chip makers CSR announced fourth quarter revenues yesterday at $184.8m ahead of the expected $178.5m. Earning per share was also higher than forecasted at 7 cents. CSR's chief executive has plans to gain more exposure in the ever growing smart phone market over the next couple of quarters boding well for the company's long-term future. Buy.

The Daily Telegraph

Cleaning and personal care group, Reckitt Benckiser, suffered an unusual turn of events when shares fell by 5%, after fourth quarter results were lower than expected. In the year to December, sales in Europe remained flat with emerging markets sales up by 18%. Share payments are up 15% in total on a year-on-year basis to 115p. Uncertainty surrounding Reckitt's healthcare division and rising commodities prices are cause for caution. Hold.

Mobile phone operator, Vodafone continues to see growth and the shares remain a solid investment. Revenues are up to £10.96bn, operations in emerging markets are also strong with rises in revenue in Turkey and India up to 37.7%, even managing to increase revenue by 7% in the UK. New investors are being offered an attractive income with a yield of 5% rising to 5.4% next year. Buy.

The Times

CWC plan to invest $210m to expand in one of the worst-performing economies on the globe, the Caribbean. The $120m will pay for a majority stake in The Bahamas Telecommunications Company. CWC state that the deal will be funded with existing cash facilities and will not impact cashflow. It claims that the Bahamas is one of the healthiest economies in the region. Many analysts have doubted whether the cash position will improve by 2012-13, but yields of more than 10% are undeniably attractive, bear in mind uncertainties. Hold.

WEDNESDAY

The Daily Telegraph

Thomas Cook recently announced that the crisis in North Africa will cost them £20m in the second quarter, with 7% of the groups profit coming from Egypt alone. However, progress is being made elsewhere with increased volumes boosting revenue 7% to £1.81bn. First quarters are usually loss-making but its cost cutting drive rescued the loss by 10% to £27.3m. Summer bookings are up 6% in the UK, 8% in Central Europe and 13% in Northern Europe. The prospective yield is 5.6% this year and 6% next year. Buy.

Mining giant Xstrata has seen profits take a massive leap, with a 331% rise in annual profit in December, pre-tax profits rose from $1.53bn to $6.6bn with further progress expected this year. Its ambitious growth plan is targeting a 36% increase in copper production, a rise in platinum production of 114% and nickel up 168% by 2014. Soaring commodity prices means the company has $1.7bn in the bank at the end the year, so funding is not a concern. Mining shares are always volatile, however they still have huge cash generating ability. The shares were recommended on February 11 last year at £10.13 and are up 47%. Buy.

The Times

Telecom group Talk Talk's priority is integrating the original Talk Talk business and the two acquisitions AOL and Tiscali, while extracting the business from BT's own network. The integration has meant some loss of customers to broadband company Tiscali shrinking their customer base to 4.22m. This was balanced by increasing spending per customers and revenues grew 7%. The integration with Tiscali will bring synergies of £55m a year and cost savings of £25m. Hold.

American hedge fund Harbinger tried to sell its 28% share in mobile satellite company Inmarsat in October. The sale was bungled and half was left with Harbinger and the fund pledged to hold on to it for at least six months. Another American satellite company owned by Harbinger; LightSquared is pledged to pay to pay over the next five years for Inmarsat's broadcasting spectrum, rumours suggest the American firm have a big customer lined up for the network, so Inmarsat should see the money. The company is building its Global Xpress high-speed mobile broadband service with three satellites due for launch in 2014. Buy.

The Independent

Makers of household cleaning products, McBride, clearly have an impressive client list including Tesco and Asda. However, recent warnings of rising raw material costs and a poor retail environment resulted in a 31% fall in pre tax profits to £15.5m for the six months up to 31 December. McBride's predictions that material cost will increase by £7m in the second half of this year has spooked investors. To tackle the cost, it has announced a £20m restructuring of its supply chain, shares are still fully priced at 12.2 forecast earnings. Sell.

Microelectronics company, Wolfson has had performance issues as of late, with its chip failing to make the cut for the iPhone 4 after its use in the 3GS. It also has supply issues resulting in operating profits of $1.3m as opposed to the expected $2.4m. However, sales are slightly ahead of consensus forecasts and share prices have more than doubled over the past year. Hold.

TUESDAY

The Daily Telegraph

Property development company St Modwen is proving resilient in terms of rental and occupation level. The company's retail assets saw a rise of 8% and a total portfolio gain of 3%. There has been an increasing demand for industrial space from resurgent manufacturers and St Modwen are in talks with Siements over a possible 127,000 sq ft manufacturing facility. Progress may be slow, but their value is growing and its shares trade at a 23% discount to the value of its assets. Buy.

Clothing retailer Moss Bros is lacking style and substance. Shares have barely flinched since mid 2008 and remain 70% below levels in 2006. A 'transformational' deal with Hugo Boss is said to add to their substance and pull them out of debt allowing for consideration into its core brand. Store refurbishments and investment into the brand over the next year will determine the brands future. Avoid.

The Times

British house builders Bellway mood has lightened this year. Last year was something of a switchback ride; the election saw buyers retreat and the appalling winter weather saw subdued customers. January proved an encouraging month for the company when reservations were above expectations. Bellway spent £130m on land during the cheaper periods pushing them into good position. However customer confidence and mortgage supply is a good reason for the company to remain cautious. Hold.

One of the City's shrewdest investors, Neil Woodford, is advising people against the Northumbrian Water Group. However, anyone who held the company since 2009 will have seen a reasonable capital appreciation on their holdings as well as high dividends. The company has announced a raise in dividends by inflation plus 2 or 3%. It is sold and asset rich remaining attractive for investors. They remain an attractive home for private investors' cash. Buy.

The Independent

Document capture software company Kofax, has impressed the market with its solid growth, and it's predicted to continue throughout 2011. Yesterday, it released a solid set of first-half results, revenues were up to £75m and earnings before interest were up 200%. The operation has sold off its struggling business and slashed its costs. The company seems to be moving in the right direction. Buy.

Online grocers Ocado shares crashed in October from 180p to 123.5p. However, since the autumn the company's share price has more than doubled, hitting 251p yesterday. Although it's noted that Ocado is well on its way to making its first recorded profit this year, it is advised to avoid until its true valuation is realised. Sell.