Oil services group Petrofac Limited (LON:PFC) was on the wrong end of an update from broker Jefferies International on Thursday.
At the end of last month, Petrofac reported a US$700mln rise in first-half revenue to US$3.9bn and a swing back into the black at the net profit level.
Petrofac said the upturn was due to good project execution and highlighted a strong line-up of bidding opportunities.
But Jefferies downgraded the stock to ‘hold’ and reduced its price target to 800p per share from 835p.
It said: “Our 2018 revenue estimate falls below the low end of consensus following detailed analysis of engineering and construction award potential.”
Elsewhere in natural resources, JP Morgan upgraded its price target on Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) by 50p to 1150p per share, with a retained ‘overweight’ recommendation.
It said the miner was trading at a discount to peers and had the second best expected spot free cash flow yield in the sector in 2017 behind Glencore.
Among other miners, JP Morgan upped its price target on silver producer Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES) to 1680p from 1600p and its target on Rio Tinto PLC (LON:RIO) to 3150p.
But it reduced its target on gold producer Randgold Resources Limited (LON:RRS) to 7650p from 7850p.
Meanwhile, Peel Hunt said it was reviewing its recommendation on Crawshaw Group PLC (LON:CRAW) after the butcher reported disappointing trading and said the full-year result would depend on action it was taking to improve sales, among other factors.
The broker said: “Although this news is disappointing, we would back management to revitalise sales growth and deliver on the store roll-out plan.”