Thursday tips round-up: Centamin, Severn Trent, Amec

31st May 2012 06:56

The Egyptian gold miner Centamin still glistens for Questor in the Telegraph. It's had a rough time during the Arab spring but is investing in a massive increase in production and could benefit from more stability following the elections in mid-June. Hold until the politics calms down in Cairo is the advice.Distinctly unexcited, that's how Tempus in the Times feels about Severn Trent, the water company. It announced a special dividend yesterday as its cash pile mounted. Investors will get £150m extra, while a further £150m will be spent improving customer services. Severn Trent had to take writedowns on its water services business in Italy and Spain but overall, the main business of pumping water into people's homes is pootling along nicely; it's just short of a takeover. Tempus thinks you can get better value elsewhere in the sector.The engineering consultancy, Amec is a worry over margins at its power and process divisions (as opposed to oil and gas which is still strong). Trading at 11.4 times earnings, Tempus concedes the stock looks cheap, but Amec gets hammered when there is global uncertainty - you may have noticed there's a bit of that about right now. Leave.Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.