Friday tips round-up: Rank, Segro, Hays

Bingo club owner Rank's chief executive, Ian Burke, put his money where his mouth is by buying £100,000 worth of shares yesterday, demonstrating his confidence in the business.

His decision could have been influenced by Rank's shares trading on a relatively modest 2010 estimated price to earnings ratio of 10.7 times. Above all, Rank cheered the City by resuming its final dividend - at 1.35p - following no payment in 2008. Buy says the Independent.

At yesterday's 321p, industrial property group Segro sits at an 11% discount to historic NAV - which is about right given the short lease length of industrial properties, and their slower appreciation in value emerging from recession than offices and shops. That leaves the 4.4% yield on the dividend as the principal attraction. But even that is an insufficient attraction for now. Pass says the Times.

Recruiter Hays would be a sell, based on the poor UK job market, which is still important for investors. But the dividend yield, at an impressive 5.69%, is too strong to ignore. Hold says the Independent.

Oil services group Hunting's profits fell by one third last year. Dennis Proctor, Hunting's chief executive, points out, the oil services sector in North America - its biggest territory - had an unusually difficult year. Less wells were drilled in 2009 than in 1905. Sizeable bolt-on deals will trigger upgrades to forecasts, but at 581p, down 23œp, or 18 times 2010 earnings once the cash is ignored, and the dividend yield slight, the shares are up with events. No more than hold say the Times.

Shares in the specialist in bovine genetics Genus have fallen 11% over the past year, underperforming the FTSE all-share index by 36%. But Genus remains a play on world population growth and the increasing adoption of Western diets in emerging markets. As such, at 686p, or a steep-looking 17 times next year's earnings, hold on says the Times.

The future of Lloyds Banking Group's 60% stake in St James Place still remains an issue on the horizon. The company gave no new updates on this, insisting it was very much business as usual. While this should not adversely affect the group in the short-term - and could provide a boost in the long term - new investors may want to wait until this is clarified before buying into the company. Hold say the Telegraph.

Engineering group GKN posted full-year figures yesterday showing a net loss of £36m. The results may not sound good, but they not only beat analyst expectations but also show a massive improvement on the £109m loss in 2008. Given the tricky conditions, GKN will not pay a dividend, but does expect an interim payment in the year ahead. And Evolution Securities is expecting a price-earnings ratio of 11.3 times on next year's forecasts. Taken together, GKN shares have plenty of room to rise. Buy says the Independent.


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