Barclays ups Huhtamaki, sees favourable trends in 2024
16/02/2024 09:36
** Barclays upgrades Huhtamaki HUH1V.HE to "equal-weight"
from "underweight", raising its PT by 38% to 40 euros, as it
says the Finnish packaging maker has performed better than
expected in 2023, and it sees 2024 to show similar trends
** The broker expects Huhtamaki to continue to benefit from
favourable raw material trends due to declining consumer board
pricing, at least in H1
** However, it sees expensive M&A, similar to Elif in Turkey
and Egypt, as a risk of again turning "underweight" on the stock
** It increases its PT by 17% for "overweight"-rated DS
Smith SMDS.L to 420 pounds, saying it is one of the cheapest
stocks in global packaging
** According to recent peer commentary, volumes appear to be
picking up, it says, and expects this to lead to a modest
re-rating of DS Smith's stock
** It nudges up its PT on Mondi MNDI.L by 1.25% to 1,215
pounds due to supportive volume commentary from peers but keeps
its "underweight" rating citing lower FCF
(Reporting by Marta Frąckowiak)
((marta.frackowiak@thomsonreuters.com))