Sterling 10 Month High

Sterling hits 10-month high as recession fears ease says the FT and stock picks are a mix of 76% BUY, 12% HOLD and 12% SELL in Stockomendation this week.

1. EQUAL WEIGHT PENNON GROUP

Top interesting stock pick this week is EQUAL WEIGHT Pennon Group by Morgan Stanley with a tip performance of 5%. Pennon Group is a water utility company based in Exeter.

The downgrade comes in the wake of the regulator announcing huge jumps in fines for water companies who fail to comply with regulation and a government report that outright says power is more attractive than water as an infrastructure investment. Government department DEFRA’s (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) new Water Plan is a reservoir of disappointment for water companies, outlining more inspections, bigger penalties and new regulator targets.

Pennon Group share price has steadily risen since listing at a mere 20p back in 1989 to today where it sits at 875p. The tip was placed on 4 April when the share price was 854p and has gained 21 pretty pence in the 2 days hence.

5 out of 5 analysts in Stockomendation rate Pennon Group as NEUTRAL or HOLD. Those are JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and RBC Capital. There are 7 short positions currently open.

2. UNDERPERFORM Man Group

Second interesting stock pick this week was UNDERPERFORM Man Group by Exane with a tip performance of 5%.

The BNP Paribas Exane analyst downgraded Man Group earlier this week. Man Group was founded in 1783. It is an investment management company that sponsored the Man Booker Prize until 2019.

Man Group share price opened at 28p in 1994 and after reaching the dizzying height of 620p in 2007 now resides at 208p fairly stable.

Three of four analysts in Stockomendation rate Man Group as NEUTRAL or HOLD being Barclays, Numis and Exane, with only Emma Powell at The Times rating it as a BUY. There are no active short positions in Stockomendation.

3. HOLD Wood Group

Third interesting stock pick this week was HOLD Wood Group by Tom Winnifrith in ShareProphets with a tip performance of 5%.

Wood Group is an engineering and consulting business headquartered in Aberdeen. Wood Group share price listed at 172p in 2002 and is now at 216p. It’s all-time high is 900p in 2013. Insiders have been buying stock since earlier this year and the Group has slowly divested high value departments such as environment to WSP for £1.8bn last year.

The big news this week is private equity firm Apollo upped its bid for Wood Group to £2.1 billion in a final offer.

Two out of three analysts in Stockomendation rate it as a HOLD being Tom Winnifrith of ShareProphets and Jefferies. Chris Bailey of Financial Orbit says BUY. There are four active short positions in Stockomendation.

Image credit Pennon Group

Forewarned is forearmed! As always you can see the aggregated, performance monitored and ranked stock tips and picks data in Stockomendation which equips you to make good investing decisions. Check out www.stockomendation.com before your next trade for maximum understanding of your target stock.

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Disclaimer: The contents of this article should not be considered financial advice. Pricing data correct as at 6th April 2023.