It is time for investors to reshuffle their mining stocks, according to Societe Generale.
The French bank today upgrades BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ and sets a 1600p price target, suggesting some 18% of upside to the current price of around 1300p.
At the same time SocGen is downgrading its view of BHP’s rival and one-time bid target Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) as well as Anglo American (LON:AAL), both of which are now rated ‘hold’ rather than ‘buy’.
The bank’s target for Rio is 3100p while the yardstick for Anglo is set at 1090p.
Another continental bank, meanwhile, isn’t making any changes. Deutsche Bank repeated its existing ‘buy’ rating for Anglo and Rio, as well as a ‘hold’ for Billiton.
Elsewhere Credit Suisse and JP Morgan agree on a less negative outlook for Diageo (LON:DGE) which they both now rate as ‘neutral’, upgraded from ‘underperform’ and ‘underweight’ respectively.
BA owner International Consolidated Airlines (LON:IAG) is a ‘buy’ according to HSBC, which today upgraded from ‘hold’.
Meanwhile, publishing group Reed Elsevier (LON:REL) is upgraded by Barclays Capital to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’.
Poundland (LON:PLND) has had its target price cut by Canaccord to 315p, from 385p, due to euro weakness and clarity on the 99p situation.
The Canadian-based broker is more optimistic on gold miner Minera (LON:MIRL), doubling its target price to 10p and reiterating a ‘speculative buy’ rating after the company announced a new financing package.
Another company feeling the love from Cannacord is Pan African Resources (LON:PAF) which had its ‘buy’ rating reaffirmed and its price target hiked to 16p.
Finally, Investec reckons Gemfields (LON:GEM) is line to make more than US$43.3mln at next week’s auctions partly through two rare matching rough rubies that have a combined weight of 45 carats.