Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Maybank downgrades StarHub to sell

Reuters: Hot Stocks Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Maybank downgrades StarHub to sell Jul 11th 2012, 06:15 Wed Jul 11, 2012 2:15am EDT Maybank Kim Eng downgraded telecommunications firm StarHub Ltd to sell from buy and cut its target price to S$3.04 from S$3.52, citing a rally in its share price. By 0600 GMT, StarHub shares were 0.6 percent lower at S$3.57, and have risen 23 percent this year, compared to the Straits Times Index's 12.4 percent rise. "The stock has raced to an all-time high amidst the current risk-off environment and its dividend yield has compressed to the lowest level since listing," Maybank said in a report. It added that StarHub shares are overvalued if dividends stay put at S$0.20 a share. At current levels, StarHub has a dividend yield of 5.6 percent, and the spread between the yield and the 10-year Singapore government bond yield has also narrowed to its smallest level of 400 basis points, the brokerage said. StarHub's capital expenditure may also rise in 2013 if it has to compete for 4G spectrum against Singapore Telecommunications and M1, Maybank said. 1406 (0606 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 1:31 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Shares up at midday, ComfortDelGro leads Singapore shares edged higher by midday and outperformed other Asian bourses, led by gains in transport operator ComfortDelGro Corp Ltd. By 0511 GMT, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) was up 0.4 percent at 2,976.98 points, extending its gains for two straight sessions. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 percent. ComfortDelGro shares were the largest gainer on the STI, rising 3.1 percent to S$1.645 with over 7.2 million shares traded, 2.3 times its average daily volume over the last five sessions. Singapore's Committee of Inquiry (COI), appointed to investigate major train disruptions that occurred in the city-state last year, found rail operator SMRT Corp's maintenance and incident response standards wanting. "After the COI's findings, there are concerns that SMRT may have to incur significantly more costs to improve its maintenance standards. So investors could be switching out of SMRT to ComfortDelGro," said a local analyst. Bus operator SBS Transit, which is 75 percent owned by ComfortDelGro, will be adding 1,000 new buses from January 2013 to 2015, of which 260 will be funded under the government's Bus Services Enhancement Programme, DMG & Partners said. Although the new capital expenditure will cost S$433 million, it will have minimal near-term earnings impact, it said. 1317 (0517 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 12:46 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Barclays favours Ezra, Keppel for next earnings Barclays said it prefers oil and gas services firm Ezra Holdings and Keppel Corp going into the next results season as it sees earnings growth and potential catalysts such as possible financing resolutions for Ezra and further contract wins for Keppel. By 0428 GMT, Ezra shares were 0.5 percent lower at S$1.085, and have jumped 29 percent so far this year. Keppel, the world's largest rig builder, was up 0.2 percent at S$10.80 and has risen 16 percent since the start of 2012, compared with the FT ST Oil & Gas Index's 21 percent gain. Ezra is expected to deliver the highest year-on-year earnings growth in the April-June period out of the oil services and rig builders Barclays covers due to an increase in activity in its subsea business and utilisation of its offshore support segment, it said. Barclays estimates Ezra's earnings per share in the third quarter to jump 196 percent from a year ago, compared to Keppel's 9 percent rise and Sembcorp Marine's 4 percent gain. "The key focus of the upcoming results will likely be on the operating margins...Ezra is expected to deliver sequentially better margins, the Singapore rig-builders are also expected to at least maintain their operating margins," said Barclays. It has an 'overweight' rating on Ezra with a target price of S$1.70. Barclays said the recent pullback in Keppel and Sembcorp Marine shares are an attractive entry point for investors. It rates Keppel at 'equal weight' with a target price of S$13.30, and Sembcorp Marine at 'overweight' with S$7.00 target price. 1236 (0436 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ DBS Vickers downgraded vegetable processing firm China Minzhong Food Corp Ltd to 'hold' from 'buy' and cut its target price to S$0.60 from S$1.45, citing cost challenges, lower margins outlook and muted growth prospects. By 0215 GMT, China Minzhong shares were 1.6 percent lower at S$0.60 and have fallen about 26 percent so far this year, compard to the FT ST China Index's 2.4 percent rise. "The slower-than-expected flushing out of crops due to the winter delay in FY12 and persistently higher costs are likely to depress margins going forward," said DBS in a report. It also noted that China Minzhong is now more focused on expanding industrial farmland instead of agricultural farmland, which means slower earnings growth as margins for processing vegetables are much lower than for cultivating vegetables, said DBS. The brokerage said it expects China Minzhong's gross margins to decline to 35.3 percent in 2014 from 38 percent this year. 1019 (0219 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 9:41 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-IHH listing benefits ASEAN healthcare stocks-CIMB IHH Healthcare's planned $2 billion listing in Malaysia and Singapore - the third largest initial public offering of the year globally - has brought interest back into healthcare stocks in Southeast Asia such as Singapore's Raffles Medical Group Ltd , CIMB said in a report. Shares of Raffles Medical were up 0.9 percent at S$2.36, and have gained 11 percent so far this year, compared to the Thomson Reuters Asia Pacific and Russia Healthcare Index's 5.6 percent rise. "Recent news flow pertaining to the dual listing of healthcare giant IHH Healthcare in Malaysia and Singapore has certainly brought interest back," said CIMB, adding company-specific news also helped. Raffles Medical will benefit from hospital bed shortage in Singapore, which has a lower bed ratio lower than other developed countries at 2.22 beds per 1,000 people in 2010, CIMB said. It has an 'outperform' rating on the stock with a target price of S$2.69. "With capacity constraints in public and other private hospitals, patient loads at Raffles Medical's flagship Raffles Hospital have been good," the brokerage said. Raffles Medical is adding capacity at Raffles Hospital by increasing clinical services and specialist offerings, at a time when healthcare costs are rising. Other healthcare stocks in the region include Thailand's Bumrungrad Hospital, which has surged 71 percent this year, and Malaysia's KPJ Healthcare, up 35 percent this year. To read a related story, click (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions