Research Analysts’ ratings reiterations for Tuesday, March 5th:
Mediaset Espana Comunicacion (MCE: TL5) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at NMAS 1 Agencia de Valores. NMAS 1 Agencia de Valores currently has a $8.04 price target on the stock.
Tullett Prebon (LON: TLPR) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at Espirito Santo Execution. Espirito Santo Execution currently has a $4.90 target price on the stock.
Tullett Prebon (LON: TLPR) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at Societe Generale. They currently have a $4.66 target price on the stock.
Toll Holdings Limited (ASX: TOL) had its neutral rating reissued by analysts at Credit Suisse. They currently have a $6.22 target price on the stock.
The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) had its market perform rating reiterated by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. They currently have a $77.00 target price on the stock.
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at ISI Group. The analysts wrote, “TI is scheduled to host its mid quarter update after the close on Thursday. We expect the company to narrow its revenue range to bracket the upper half of its prior outlook. Recall, TI had guided 1Q revenue in the range of $2.69b to $2.91b (-6% qoq to the midpoint). Of the forecasted decline, 4.5% points are expected to come from recently exited wireless segments, leaving the outlook for the core businesses about seasonal (-2% qoq) but largely behind outlooks from TI’s peers. We expect the core business to perform more in line with that of its competitors, and anticipate slight growth into the March quarter (in analog and embedded) with the potential benefit of some inventory replenishment, given that distributor inventory has fallen below 6 weeks.”
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) had its hold rating reaffirmed by analysts at Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank currently has a $30.00 price target on the stock.
Unione di Banche Italiane SCPA (BIT: UBI) had its hold rating reaffirmed by analysts at Deutsche Bank. They currently have a $4.55 price target on the stock.
UBM (LON: UBM) had its buy rating reissued by analysts at Nomura. They currently have a $13.53 target price on the stock.
Unibail-Rodamco SE (EPA: UL) had its underperform rating reaffirmed by analysts at BNP Paribas. BNP Paribas currently has a $223.38 target price on the stock.
Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc (LON: ULE) had its sell rating reiterated by analysts at Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank currently has a $21.05 target price on the stock.
United Rentals (NYSE: URI) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at Bank of America. The analysts wrote, “We view Ashtead’s positive results as a positive read-across for Buy-rated United Rentals (URI, $52.05, C-1-9), as well as (to a lesser extent) Neutral-rated aerial work platform OEM Terex (TEX, $31.93, C-2-9). Ashtead’s Sunbelt chain is United Rentals’ biggest competitor in the US, and a likely customer of Terex. Ashtead (covered by our UK colleague Andy Murphy) posted a 45% YoY increase in fiscal third quarter EBITDA (ended January 31, 2013), to £121mn, 10% above the BofA forecast. Sunbelt’s rental revenue grew 27% during the quarter (driven by fleet on rent +14%, with 11% higher yield) and diluted EPS rose 164% YoY, to 6.7p. Hurricane Sandy contributed about 500bp of the growth, although Ashtead does not expect this benefit to repeat in the fiscal fourth quarter ended April.”
Veolia Environnement SA (EPA: VIE) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at AlphaValue. They currently have a $15.84 price target on the stock.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) had its neutral rating reiterated by analysts at Zacks. Zacks currently has a $49.00 price target on the stock. Zacks’ analyst wrote, “We are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on Verizon. The company has a strong foothold within the wireless and wireline sectors, with ample growth opportunities in the coming months. The company remains focused on improving profitability over the long-term through the rapid evolution of 4G LTE, high sales of smartphones, expansion of the FiOS network and strength in enterprise strategic services in areas such as global IP, cloud computing, security and managed services. Despite the positives, we prefer to stay on the sidelines owing to Verizon’s soft fourth quarter results plus risks factors such as persistent erosion in access lines, uncertain returns from investments, iPhone subsidies, hindrances in spectrum deals and intense competition.”
John Wood Group (LON: WG) had its neutral rating reaffirmed by analysts at JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase currently has a $14.48 price target on the stock.
William Hill (LON: WMH) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at Jefferies Group. They currently have a $7.52 price target on the stock.
Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) had its outperform rating reiterated by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. The firm currently has a $43.27 price target on the stock.
WPP PLC (NASDAQ: WPPGY) had its neutral rating reiterated by analysts at Zacks. The firm currently has a $85.00 target price on the stock. Zacks’ analyst wrote, “WPP reported strong full year 2012 results with a healthy growth in revenue and earnings. The company expects a like-for-like revenue and gross margin growth of around 3% and operating margin improvement of 0.5 margin points in 2013, aiming to grow at a faster rate than the industry average. WPP also expects to remain active on share buybacks and acquisition binge to extend its footprint as well as consolidate its leading position in existing markets. However concentration risks, foreign currency exposure, and stiff competition from other players in the market could undermine its profitability by some extent. Nevertheless, we maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock as we anticipate it to perform in line with the broader market. “
Westar Energy (NYSE: WR) had its neutral rating reiterated by analysts at Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs currently has a $32.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $31.00. The analysts wrote, “We raise estimates and our target price, following 4Q2012 earnings and updated capital spending disclosures, on WR, but reiterate our Neutral rating given valuation and strong relative performance. Our forecasts of $2.15/$2.27/$2.26/$2.43 for 2013/2014/2015/2016 assume (1) a step up in 2014 earnings due to the rate increase for the LaCygne environmental project, (2) regulatory lag that weighs on 2015 estimates and growth from2014 levels and (3) a full general rate increase that positively impacts 2016.”
Xl Group Plc (NYSE: XL) had its market perform rating reaffirmed by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. They currently have a $27.00 price target on the stock.
Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) had its hold rating reissued by analysts at Canaccord Genuity. Canaccord Genuity currently has a $95.00 target price on the stock.
Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) had its neutral rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Jaffray. The firm currently has a $21.00 price target on the stock.
Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION) had its hold rating reiterated by analysts at Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank currently has a $23.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $22.00.
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