Companies: MJW    MSY    STHR    TTG   

A mixed bag of recommendations from Landsbanki, where Paul Deacon sees wine warehouse Majestic Wine offering a ‘compelling valuation and defensive attributes’, high returns and significant expansion scope. Valued on AIM at £133 million, Majestic ‘turned in a robust performance’ in the year to March, ‘given the circumstances’, with profits increasing by 3.4 per cent to £16.7 million. Deacon also cheered encouraging recent like-for-like sales in ‘a higher pricing environment’.

Number-crunching colleague Andrew Carter sticks with his ‘hold’ stance on TT Electronics following news of the appointment of a new CEO, Geraint Anderson, and a reassuring trading update. Valued at £191 million on the Main Board at 123p, TT continues to trade satisfactorily in tough markets, while cost-cutting continues and new contracts have been secured.

SThree – sit tight
Ian Jermin urges holding staffer SThree – worth £263 million at 190p – following an encouraging first-half update. With 21 per cent growth in gross profit to £100 million expected, demand appears to be holding up, despite the banking sector slowdown, although ‘as a matter of prudence’ Jermin has culled his 2008 and 2009 earnings estimates.

Elsewhere, a ‘reduce’ recommendation was slapped on FTSE 250 software and services counter Misys, in spite of its trading statement heralding a return to growth – analyst Kevin Ashton considers the 159p shares pricey on a price-to-earnings ratio of 18, given flat orders and with margins ‘set to stagnate’.