Accendo Markets says don’t call it a buy-back.
We’ve been here for years, according to head of research Mike van Dulken, who ponders whether Lloyds (LON:LLOY) will ever see the back of the miss-selling overhang.
He highlights the disappointment of another set of Lloyds results with lower than expected profits and more frustrating provisions for PPI payouts.
On-top of that, however, van Dulken also points to what he calls an ‘illusionary’ rewards for shareholders.
In a note the analyst said: “While a 0.75p interim dividend will please the income seekers, news that the bank might consider an illusionary share buyback instead of special dividends to return capital to shareholders as it rebuilds its capital buffer will be a worry for those who went without regular income for so long post-bailout and quite rightly consider cash as king.”
Elsewhere in the City, Barclays Capital nudged higher price targets for fund managers Close Brothers (LON:CBG) and Henderson (LON:HGG), as well as low-grade lender Provident Financial (LON:PFG) and engineering group Weir (LON:WEIR).
Coal-turned-biomass power firm Drax (LON:DRX) had its price target raised to 375p from 365p (current price: 289p) by Credit Suisse, which already had an ‘outperform’ rating for the group.
Both Barclays and Credit Suisse, meanwhile, reduced targets for Diageo (LON:DGE) to 2000p from 2075p and 1750p from 1800p respectively (current price: 1797p). The former retains an ‘overweight’ rating whereas the latter is sticking to ‘neutral’.
ITV (LON:ITV) was in the news today, and shares advanced as its largest shareholder Liberty Global increased its stake in the company.
Liberty, which owns Virgin Media, has purchased 138.7mln shares in the firm, taking its total holding to 398.5m shares, or around 9.9%.
Liberty's chief executive Mike Fries said in a regulatory statement: "ITV is a well-run company with attractive growth potential, and we are pleased to increase our position as their largest shareholder."
Broker Peel Hunt repeated a ‘buy’ and has recently pushed the target price to 330p from 300p.
It says it is bullish on the stock due to, among other factors, a strong content arm and a unique mass market platform for advertisers.
“Clearly if we were to factor in a reasonable bid premium, our 330p target price would look puny,” the City firm added.
In the small cap universe, Proxama (LON:PROX) has added the Standard Bank of South Africa to its client list after striking a deal with its subsidiary Diners Club to provide payment management systems.
Again Peel Hunt looked at this stock. The rating is 'buy' and the target price 6p.
"The win announced today demonstrates that Proxama is
delivering on expectations to accelerate its commercial development and build scale in 2015.
The broker added: "We continue to expect both Proxama divisions to progress towards cash generation towards the end of the year."
Diamondcorp (LON:DCP) is about on schedule to get its Lace mine in South Africa into production in the next few months, it told investors today.
Tunnel excavation underground has gone slower than expected due to additional safety and support work near old workings, which has pushed the timetable back four weeks.
Investec had this to say: "Whilst some of the challenges outlined are disappointing, we view them as no more than hiccups at the final stages of development, with the value case for Lace intact and on the cusp of delivery."
Cantor Fitzgerald is still bullish on Canadian copper miner Rambler Metals (LON:RMM) even though its target price has been cut to 24p from 46p.
The reduction is due to the weak copper price at present, but Cantor remains upbeat over the planned expansion of Rambler’s Ming mine through the Lower Footwall Zone where a pre-feasibility study returned a NPV5% of C$62m (£31m or 22p/share).
"The shares have risen 15% since the announcement and the re-rating should continue, particularly as management is planning to finance the development from cash flow and debt."
A 'buy' still says Cantor.