Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Broker comments in the UK today. Compiled by Dow Jones Newswires Markets Desk, markets.eu@dowjones.com Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9464 Markettalk.eu@dowjones.com 0746 GMT [Dow Jones] The European bank stress tests should have been tougher, says Evolution Securities, and the whole exercise lacks credibility. "We don't see the Tests as a strong positive catalyst for equity investors, although we do expect them to help in the gradual normalisation process of funding markets," says Evolution. Says it becomes increasingly selective on the banking sector, as the average upside (22%) is now more limited. Says Santander (STD) remains its core conviction buy, with Lloyds Banking Group (LYG), BNP Paribas (BNP.FR), and Standard Chartered (STAN.LN) core buys. Replaces ING (INGA.AE) and Ageas (AGS.BT) with BBVA (BBV) and RBS (RBS.LN) as core buys. Says National Bank of Greece (NBG) and Banco Popolare (BP.MI) got the lowest results in its universe, and remain core sells. (peter.nurse@dowjones.com) 0702 GMT [Dow Jones] Reckitt Benckiser (RB.LB) 2Q "slightly ahead" of Shore Capital's forecast, says analyst Darren Shirley. Says the core business has modestly outperformed, driven by emerging markets. Europe is still suffering from increased competition, particularly from Proctor & Gamble (PG). See no change to full-year forecasts and reiterates buy stance. Shares -0.5% at 3320p. (michael.carolan@dowjones.com) 0655 GMT [Dow Jones] Bank of America Merrill Lynch raises Capita Group (CPI.LN) to buy from neutral. "We expect Capita to win more big ticket contracts over the next 12 months which, coupled with less run-off, should drive an improvement in organic growth over 2011/12," says brokerage. Adds that Capita is a high quality name, with strong market positions, management and cash flow returns. Has a 820p price objective. Shares closed at 739p. (ishaq.siddiqi@dowjones.com) 0650 GMT [Dow Jones] William Hill's (WMH.LN) restructuring of its telephone betting operations is positive, but guidance will remain unchanged, says an analyst. Says the restructuring should eliminate some GBP4M of annualized cost so "this should be seen as positive management action." William Hill Online will establish a new telephone betting operation in Gibraltar, which will allow the group to close its directly owned telephone betting subsidiary in the U.K. The services will then be provided by William Hill Online and Vertex (an outsourced service provider). Shares closed at 174p. (anita.likus@dowjones.com) 0649 GMT [Dow Jones] Aberdeen Asset Management's (ADN.LN) GBP300M net inflow in the fiscal third quarter is "a pleasant surprise," says corporate broker JPMorgan Cazenove, which had expected an outflow. Total assets under management came in below JPM's expectations, but the lower figure is countered by a modestly-higher revenue margin, and the effects of the market rally since the end of June mean little change to its estimates. Broker keeps an overweight rating. Shares closed Friday at 133p. (margot.patrick@dowjones.com) 0643 GMT [Dow Jones] Pearson's (PSON.LN) shares are expected to rise after upgrading its outlook for 2010 after strong 1H results, says a media analyst, noting there was some concern in the market that the group wouldn't be able to maintain its strong performance. While market conditions remain uncertain and growth is expected to slow in the 2H due to tough comparables, Pearson forecast adjusted earnings of approximately 70p a share for the year, up from 65.4p a year earlier. The guidance takes into account the earnings impact from the sale of its 61% stake in Interactive Data Corp. Pearson shares closed at 973p Friday. (lilly.vitorovich@dowjones.com) 0641 GMT [Dow Jones] Tullow Oil's (TLW.LN) latest oil discovery offshore Ghana in the Owo field is "really exciting," and could add a billion barrels to the resource estimate for the area, says Panmure Gordon analyst Peter Hitchens. If Owo had not found oil, resources in the greater Tweneboa area would probably have been capped at 400 million barrels of oil equivalent, but the new find makes it more likely that the area contains around 1.4 billion boe, he says. Owo is also potentially more valuable to Tullow than the Jubilee field's estimated 1.5 billion boe because it has a larger stake of 49.95%, he adds. Has a buy rating, 1500p target price. Shares closed Friday at 1179p. (james.herron@dowjones.com) Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9288 Markettalk.eu@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 26, 2010 03:46 ET (07:46 GMT)