Tax Fears

Headlines say London-listed banks fall on tax fears and all stock picks are a mix of 84% BUY, 8% HOLD and 8% SELL.

1. OUTPERFORM Associated British Foods

Top performing stock pick this week is OUTPERFORM Associated British Foods by RBC Capital with a tip performance of 3%.

Associated British Foods (ABF) is a food, ingredients, and retail global group. Founded in 1935, ABF has operations in 55 countries and customers in over 100 countries and operates in five segments including grocery, sugar, agriculture, ingredients and retail. It owns British brands such as Primark, Kingsmills and Twinings.

ABF share price launched at 42p in 1988, rose to an all-time high of 3,516p in 2015 and is today at 2,550p.

On Tuesday 28th August Deutsche Bank lowered the target price from 2,290p to 2,190p and reiterated its SELL rating. On 27th Deutsched Numis downgraded it to SELL from HOLD.

RBC Capital reduced its forecasts due to the lower Primark like-for-like forecasts and lower sugar prices. However, RBC analysts were more optimistic than Deutsche about ABF’s future, expecting improvements in sugar prices, grocery sales and Primark’s fortunes.

Five analysts in Stockomendation with five different ratings: Deutsche Bank with SELL, RBC Capital with OUTPERFORM, Jefferies with HOLD, Lauren Almeida with BUY and JP Morgan with NEUTRAL. There are no active short positions open.

2. BUY BAE

Second top performing stock pick this week is BUY BAE Systems by Ben McPoland in The Motley Fool with a tip performance of 2%.

BAE Systems plc is a British multinational aerospace, defence and information security company, based in London, England. Founded in 1999, it is a component of the FTSE 100 index, been the largest manufacturer in Britain since 2017 and is the largest defence contractor in Europe. At the time of writing it is Britain’s 17th largest company.

BAE share price launched at 94p in 1988, rose to an all-time of of 1,392p in May of this year and is today at 1,358p.

In Stockomendation three out of five analysts say BUY they are Ben McPoland, UBS and DZ Bank; Simon Watkins says ADD and Goldman Sachs is NEUTRAL. There are no active short positions open.

3. BUY Aviva

Third top performing stock pick this week is BUY Aviva (AV.) by Sumayya Mansoor in The Motley Fool with a tip performance of 2%.

Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 19 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general insurer and a leading life and pensions provider.

Aviva share price launched at 303p in 1988, rose to an all-time high of 1,265p in 1998 and is today at 506p.

On 14th August Aviva reported growth in key financial metrics in interim results in this RNS.

In Stockomendation five out of five analysts say BUY, ADD or OUTPERFORM they are Sumayya Mansour, Roland Head, Lauren Almeida, RBC Capital and Simon Watkins. There are no active fund manager short positions open.

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Disclaimer: The contents of this article should not be considered financial advice. Pricing data correct as at 29th August 2024.