Nomura has reiterated its buy recommendation and 180p target price for insurance group Legal and General after its 2011 results came in ahead of consensus expectations in key areas.Nomura says the focus of the results was on the dividend, which was raised by 35% to 6.4p, surpassing expectations of 5.93p. "Dividend cash cover was 2.25x in 2011 and the company's guidance is to reduce this to 2x or below in the medium term, providing scope for further structural increases in the dividend, in our view," the broker said.Nomura added that the earnings growth seen in 2011 was mainly driven by a capital light strategy of growing its asset management and unit-linked savings business. Prime Markets remains a buyer of oil and gas giant Tullow Oil after its impressive full-year results, saying that the stage is set for further growth. "Tullow Oil is one of the most phenomenal stories from the sector for many years, and its amazing run of success in Africa over the past few years has been accompanied by stellar share price growth and returns for investors," Curr added.Prime Markets sees Tullow Oil as an "explosive momentum growth play, backed by the sort of impressive fundamental growth numbers normally seen in an explosive small cap growth stock."Peel Hunt has upgraded its rating for brewer and pubs group Marston's from hold to buy after like-for-like (LFL) sales growth surpassed expectations in the first half."Marston's selection of high-returning investment projects is such that it should improve its market position. This strong Q2 result gives at least an indication that the value strategy is indeed generating outperformance," said analyst Paul Hickman.The broker has today raised its pre-tax profit and earnings per share forecasts by 2% for 2012 and upped its price target from 100p to 114p.BC