'Premium chef' - Barclays starts Rational with 'overweight

Rational AG

04/01/2024 12:33

** Barclays initiates coverage of Rational  RAAG.DE  with
"overweight" rating, citing the industrial kitchen retailer's
leadership in a niche market, "superior" financials and growth
outlook
    ** Citing the company's data, Barclays says Rational has
nearly 50% market share in key combi ovens and multifunctional
cookers segments
    ** It adds that Rational benefits from a stabilisation in
retail spending and notes an "ample" potential for the company's
products to replace traditional kitchen appliances 
    ** "We believe that Rational has been doing well in managing
the business, not just in terms of industry position in a highly
specialised market, but also in terms of financials" - Barclays
    ** The broker says that Rational has one of the highest adj.
EBIT margins among peers, while "decent" profitability has
resulted in strong FCF generation and a strong balance sheet 
    ** Out of 17 analysts that cover Rational, five rate the
stock "strong buy" or "buy," ​eight rate it "hold" and four rate
it "strong sell" or "sell" - LSEG

 (Reporting by Chiara Holzhaeuser)
 ((Chiara.Holzhaeuser@thomsonreuters.com))