Royal Mail (RMG) aims to deliver the goods with a push overseas
Takeover delays esure Group (ESUR) executive search
– Harrods boss: ‘We should support Mike Ashley for trying to shake things up at House of Fraser’
Premier Oil (PMO) makes slow progress on funds for Falklands project
Questor’s pub crawl go in search of the sector’s most attractive stocks: Fuller Smith & Turner (FSTA) – In Questor’s experience, Fuller’s is stronger in this respect than some rival groups, whose estates can be heavily branded with generic names that push the individual pub’s identity into the background. Berenberg rates Fuller’s a buy with a price target of £12.50.The City Pub Group (CPC) – Questor rates this the best bet. Marston’s (MARS) – It rates the shares a hold with a 105p price target. They look cheap on a price-to-earnings (p/e) ratio of 6.6 and a yield of 8%. Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) – With a p/e of 17.5 the shares are nowhere near as cheap as Wetherspoon’s beer, and Questor is inclined to avoid them. Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) – Another chain threatened by rising costs, with business rates a significant problem thanks to its bias towards the South East. It has a history of underinvestment in its pubs, resulting in “bottom-of-the-class performance”. No more than a hold. Greene King (GNK) – strongest attractions is a dividend that currently equates to a yield of 6.9% and looks safe thanks to comfortable coverage by earnings. Still worth buying. Young & Co’s Brewery (Non-Voting) (YNGN) – This is another stock that we have tipped in the past, this time for our Inheritance Tax Portfolio in view of Young’s Aim quotation. It remains a hold. One other listed pub group is Shepherd Neame, but Berenberg described its shares as “super illiquid”.
