Barclays upgrades Centrica to 'overweight'

(Sharecast News) - Barclays upgraded British Gas owner Centrica on Thursday as it took a look at European utilities.

The bank lifted Centrica to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and upped the price target to 210p from 180p, to reflect increased confidence in the company's upside potential.

"This positive view is underpinned by Centrica's effective redeployment of cash into value-accretive investments, particularly in Sizewell C, Meters, and LNG, which has been the primary catalyst for our price target increase," it said.

"Looking ahead, we see further upside that is not yet reflected in our price target, notably from potential additional capital allocation to nuclear (including SMRs) and the Rough gas storage site."

Barclays added that despite recent gains, Centrica remains undervalued relative to peers.

At 1105 BST, Centrica shares were up 2.3% at 174p.

Centrica