Barclays upgrades Next to 'overweight'

Barclays upgraded Next to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and raised the price target to 9,000p from 7,400p.Barclays said its analysis suggests the market under-appreciates Next's growth opportunities both in Retail and Directory, which stem from real wage growth, a very promising Label business and online international expansion."Through an efficient and well invested operational model Next can benefit from a positive UK macro environment while incurring minimum capex, which justifies a sector premium valuation in our view," said Barclays.The bank noted that Next currently trades in line with the sector, its lowest level in two years, yet it offers the highest dividend yield in Barclays' coverage at a time when high yield investments are scarce."We conclude that Next offers income, growth, stability and visibility at a good price," said Barclays.At 10:37, Next shares were up 1.7% at 7,600p.