LONDON (ShareCast) - KBC Peel Hunt has maintained its ‘add’ recommendation on Tullow Oil and lifted its estimates on the oil explorer and producer following the company’s impressive interim results this morning.

The broker said that oil price hedging – which would have prevented the company benefiting fully from the surge in prices – had a lower impact than expected.

KBC Peel also noted that shares in Tullow have been affected by the recent decline in oil prices and the fact that its wells can occasionally disappoint.

JP Morgan has maintained its ‘neutral’ stance on the Russia-focused oil producer Imperial Energy, saying that there is limited upside despite a recent offer for the company.

The offer, which was made by Jarpeno, a subsidiary of India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), at 1,250p a share, is only slightly above the 1,240p a share Imperial trades at now, the broker noted.

However, JPM added that there is also limited downside to Imperial’s share price.

It also noted the possibility of bidding competition from China and of ONGC lifting its bid to 1,500p.

KBC Peel Hunt has maintained its ‘buy’ recommendation on buy-to-let mortgage specialist Paragon, saying its loans are performing better than the market in general.

“Investors should appreciate the fact that Paragon benefits from non-recourse financing arrangements with its bond investors, while it has full recourse to guarantees provided by its customers (the buy-to-let landlords),” the broker said.

It keeps its 150p target price on Paragon.

• News Channel