Broker tips: Housebuilders, M&S, BSkyB, Greggs

9th Oct 2013 11:52

As part of an upbeat review of the UK housing market, Goldman Sachs has added Taylor Wimpey to its 'conviction buy' list and upgraded its ratings for Bovis Homes and Barratt Developments from 'neutral' to 'buy'."Partly stimulated by the Help To Buy shared equity scheme, lead indicators such as UK mortgage approvals and RICS survey data strongly indicate a rebound in activity. Moreover, forward sales for UK housebuilders are currently tracking up around 50%, further supporting our view of a meaningful transactions recovery from 2014 onwards from depressed levels," the US bank said.Nomura has retained its 'buy' rating for High Street group Marks & Spencer (M&S), saying that while the hot summer weather and promotions are likely to have been unhelpful in the second quarter, there is little to suggest it is an underlying problem."We are bullish on UK retail, with M&S LFLs highly correlated to consumer confidence, which has been rising sharply in recent months. We also believe M&S is substantially under-earning in margin terms with GM gross margins 51% versus 57-60% for peers. The current strategy to improve product availability and reduce markdown issues in our opinion will significantly narrow this gap, and we believe the division has a credible management team in place to execute on the strategy."Investec has downgraded its view on pay-TV and broadband group British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) from 'hold' to 'reduce' ahead of the company's trading update next week, saying it sees modest downside to current prices."While Sky looks a safe haven given current US government issues, micro based competitive dynamics are tough, evidenced by fiscal 1Q BT Sport launch activity (higher Sky costs/lower KPI growth) - we see limited positive catalysts for 1Q or even this year given new Premier League costs and incremental VOD investment."Canaccord Genuity has retained its 'sell' rating and 330p target price for bakery chain Greggs, saying that while the third quarter saw some improvement its underlying investment case remains unchanged."Profits will continue to come under pressure over the next two to three years as the group invests in refurbishments and strategically repositions the business towards a 'food-on-the-go' model. This does not come without execution risk alongside the shift of the model into a sub-sector that is probably one of the most competitive in the UK retail landscape."BC