Sunday share tips: Marks&Spencer, Cove, Bloomsbury

Marks & Spencer's first-quarter trading update was below expectations. UK same-store sales fell 2.8 per cent after a near-7 per cent fall in clothing sales. There was no change to full-year guidance but the changes at the top did not stop analysts taking their red pens to forecasts. Current-year consensus fell by 3 per cent last week. It's not clear yet whether Marks & Spencer is stuck in an ongoing rut but its shares have been in a trading range for quite some time. Marc Bolland, chief executive, has faced a tough consumer backdrop but so have peers. Investors have been waiting 10 years for a turnaround. They won't be prepared to wait much longer. Companies such as M&S live and die on their offerings. M&S has failed to get these right. A new "style director" is to be appointed in the form of Belinda Earl, the ex-head of Debenhams and Jaeger. Nevertheless, while the appointment of Ms Earl looks particularly shrewd, we won't see any impact until well into next year. The shares are trading on a earnings multiple of 9.3, falling to 8.4 and yielding 5.5 per cent. They are cheap and trade at a discount to the sector - but they are cheap for a reason. For now, a hold rating is appropriate, says The Sunday Telegraph´s Questor team.Bloomsbury Publishing is riding a "seismic shift" in the way we read. In the first three months of the year, e-book sales jumped by an astonishing 70%. Sales of its print editions fell 2% but e-book sales more than made up for this. Of course, Bloomsbury has been positioning itself for these market changes for a number of years. It has been using cash-flows from Harry Potter to invest in higher margin, more academic publishing. This is more resilient than traditional publishing and the increasing focus on e-books is likely to be positive for margins. The company has a strong balance sheet, with £10m in cash. Questor thinks the rating remains cheap as the market has not taken account of the fact that earnings forecasts for the publisher have risen by around 30 per cent over the past year. The shares are trading on a February 2013 earnings multiple of 9.5 times, falling to 8.9. The prospective yield is 4.7% rising to 4.9%. Last tipped as a buy at 115p on May 25, the shares are little changed. Questor thinks the rating is undemanding and the shares remain a buy.For the past six months Royal Dutch Shell has been locked in a takeover saga. The end, finally, is nigh, and chief executive Peter Voser has a decision to make. In February, he lobbed in a bid for Cove Energy, an explorer that found the giant Rovuma gas field off the coast of Mozambique. From nowhere, PTT, Thailand's state oil group, emerged with a richer offer. Neither has got very far. But it is a dangerous situation for Shell. Virtually all of Cove's value is in an 8.5% stake in the Rovuma field, which has enough gas to supply Asian customers for decades. Cove is a foot in the door of the huge project. Shell, however, won't stop there. It wants to increase its stake to as much as a third, and possibly take control of the multi-billion-dollar development. So whatever price Cove ends up going for will set the floor from which its partners in Rovuma will start their negotiations. Furthermore, whoever ends up buying Cove is really purchasing an obligation to spend billions to bring the big find into production. Except for the hedgies who have bought in hoping for one last flurry of action, anything beyond 240p will be gravy. And who knows, Shell could break the bank. It has form. It splashed out for Enterprise Oil a decade ago, Duvernay Oil in Canada in 2008, and Australia's Arrow in 2010. With the benefit of hindsight, all of the above look . . . generous, writes The Sunday Times.ABPlease note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.