ITV shares race up the FTSE 100 after bullish Morgan Stanley view
ITV’s shares are among the top of the FTSE 100 gainers on Friday after Morgan Stanley boosted the stock with its bullish view in a note to clients.
FTSE 100
8,213.49
16:59 03/05/24
FTSE 350
4,515.50
16:54 03/05/24
FTSE All-Share
4,469.09
17:14 03/05/24
ITV
72.00p
16:35 03/05/24
Media
11,969.28
16:54 03/05/24
The US investment bank maintained its ‘overweight’ rating on the stock with a 300p target price.
In its latest note, Morgan Stanley raised its earnings per share forecasts by 10% to 16% per annum from 2015 to 2017.
“ITV is growing strongly, trades at a discount to peers and has a yield of 4.7%. It is a key pick in the media sector,” said the bank.
According to the bank, advertising momentum is a key driver of the short-term ITV share price.
“2014 saw 6% growth and we look for a repeat in 2015 with some media buyers more optimistic even than that,” it said.
The bank described the company as structurally sound, noting that TV has taken ad share in the recession, viewing hours are solid and ITV is outperforming peers.
“ITV Family share of viewing was up 4% in 2013 and down 5% in 2014, almost flat overall. ITV delivers substantial audiences, its digital channels are successful, and the Studio and digital assets are growing quickly,” the bank added.
It added however that there will be some reinvestment of the £35m lower cost on the loss of the UEFA Champions League football but overall, “we expect programming spend to stay flat at circa £1.04bn in each of the next three years.”