Shares in FTSE 250 real estate firms Hammerson PLC (LON:HMSO) and Workspace Group PLC (LON:WKP) were lifted in late-morning after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stocks to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.
The upgrades were bittersweet, however, as the bank also trimmed its target for the two companies with Hammerson cut to 440p from 480p and Workspace to 1,000p from 1,100p. The scissors also fell on FTSE 100 group British Land Company PLC, which was reduced to 660p from 710p but retained at ‘buy’.
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In a note, the bank said it was “bullish” on the European real estate sector for 2019, pegging Hammerson among its top picks that had an average total shareholder return (TSR) upside of 33% on a 12-month view.
The shares were up solidly on the news, with Hammerson rising 2% to 350.8p while Workspace was up 1.6% at 880.5p and British Land was hovering around 554.4p.