St. James's Place Tumbles to the Bottom of the -2-

0714 GMT - Sainsbury's FY 2023 performance show that its investment thesis gets better and better, Shore Capital analysts Clive Black and Darren Shirley say in a note. The British grocer's underlying pretax profit of GBP690 million for FY 2023 came in ahead of Shore's twice upgraded GBP685 million estimate, they say. The group has performed well across its market segments, reflecting the positive impact of its strategy, the analysts say. "Sainsbury is working at pace, executing well, and engineering improving options for shareholders. We continue to point out a high free-cash-flow yield, attractive and sustainable dividend flow, and scope for management to talk to further shareholder friendliness," they add. ([e-mail])

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WPP Delivers Robust 1Q with Comforting Outlook

0711 GMT - WPP has reported good first-quarter revenue with organic growth of 2.9%, beating both Citi and market expectations and just falling short of the full-year's guidance of 3% to 5%, Citi says. This may provoke some short-term hand-wringing for investors in the advertising group, as it has a track record of beating estimates and follows a strong outperformance at rival Publicis, however, "We think investors should focus on the outlook where the reiteration of full-year guidance--which implies an acceleration in growth from the second quarter--looks well set, given the phasing of comparisons and strong operational momentum," Citi's analysts say. The U.S. bank retains its buy rating and 1,500 pence price target. Shares closed Wednesday at 957 pence. ([e-mail])

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Taylor Wimpey Update Looks Reassuring With Outlook Positive

0653 GMT - Taylor Wimpey has delivered a reassuring business update for the first few months of 2023, reiterating guidance and with the private sales rate slightly above estimates, Citi says. The house builder's figures imply an underlying sales rate for the period since the last update of 0.7, beating Citi's estimate of 0.66, Citi analyst Ami Galla says in a research note. "[Taylor Wimpey]'s solid trading performance, strength of land bank and outlet growth supports strong earnings recovery in 2024-2025 and a confirmation of this demand strength into autumn should drive further upside risks to consensus estimates," the U.S. bank says. Citi retains its buy rating and 133 pence price target. Shares closed Wednesday at 125.6 pence. ([e-mail])

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Unilever's Guidance Upgrade Doesn't Surprise

0650 GMT - Unilever delivered a positive 1Q, following a similar performance from other staples, while its increased guidance was in line with the market consensus, RBC Capital Markets analysts James Edwardes Jones and Emma Letheren say in a note. The Anglo-Dutch multisector retailer's sales for the quarter were way ahead of expectations, they say. However, Unilever upgraded its full-year sales growth guidance after market consensus was already there, while 1H EBIT margin guidance was also set in line with consensus, they add. "It feels harsh to describe a beat on organic growth of over 300bps as uneventful, but that's how it feels after this 1Q reporting season so far," they add. ([e-mail])

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-27-23 0412ET