Brokers' take

FOOD EMPIRE HOLDINGS| BUY
MAY 12 CLOSE: S$0.67
TARGET PRICE: S$0.78

UOB Kay Hian, May 12

FEH reported an increase in revenue of 23.6 per cent. Q1 2017 saw sales in Russia increase by 23 per cent from US$24.3 million in Q1 2016 to US$29.9 million in Q1 2017 as the Russian rouble appreciated against the US dollar.

Food Empire's chief executive Sudeep Nair's last acquisition of Food Empire stock was on March 1, where he bought a total of 824,200 Food Empire shares at an average price of about S$0.565.

Food Empire continues to be on the lookout for opportunities to expand into new geographies outside of the current markets to mitigate risk and provide a more balanced portfolio.

Maintain "buy". Our target price of S$0.78 is currently under review pending management meeting on Monday.

---

FRASERS CENTREPOINT LTD | BUY
MAY 12 CLOSE: S$1.855
TARGET PRICE: S$2.30

DBS Group Research, May 12

We maintain our "buy" rating on Frasers Centrepoint Ltd (FCL) as valuations remain attractive at 0.8 times price-to-net asset value ratio (P/NAV).

The stock still lags the other large-cap developers, trading close to one times P/NAV, implying that its upcoming Singapore projects have been broadly overlooked.

FCL's dividend yield remains the highest among developers at around 5 per cent.

---

NOBLE GROUP LTD | NEUTRAL
MAY 12 CLOSE: S$0.665
TARGET PRICE: S$0.80

Credit Suisse, May 12

Following its profit guidance on May 9, Noble reported a net loss of US$129 million in Q1 2017.

Management attributed this to dislocation in coal markets and decoupling of key price indices impacting hedges for their current and future exposures.

Noble is in discussion with banks on its base borrowing facility due in June, of which about US$600 million has been drawn.

With rising balance sheet risk, we lower our target price to S$0.80, based on 0.2 times price-to-book ratio.

Due to the challenging operating environment, we reduce 2018-19 estimated earnings per share (EPS). Key upside risk could come from incoming chairman's strategic review and potential M&A newsflow.

Disclaimer: All analyses, recommendations and other information herein are published for general information. Readers should not rely solely on the information published and should seek independent financial advice prior to making any investment decision. The publisher accepts no liability for any loss arising from any use of the information published herein.