Broker tips: RBS, British American, Shell, RPS Group

A quick reaction note from Bernstein on Royal Bank of Scotland praised a "strong beat" on operating expenses and lower restructuring costs than it expected, with its 'outperform' rating maintained and target price moved to 450p.

Delivering its investment case, Bernstein said that once the restructuring is over and interest rates normalise the core banking franchise over the next few years is "likely to expand earnings" from the near-28p per share today to "north of 35p" .

Meanwhile, analysts at Jefferies emphasised that the critical metric for them was the core equity Tier 1 ratio, which improved by 30 basis points to reach 11.5% "Overall, results are trending in-line with our thesis and we await the full disposal of Citizens Financial Group to see a capital ratio > 13%."

British American Tobacco missed analysts' forecasts slightly with its first-quarter results this week, but that wasn't enough to deter Societe Generale from upgrading the stock from 'hold' to 'buy'.

The French bank said that the solid pricing backdrop means that the cigarette and tobacco group is still on track. "Following [share] price weakness, we upgrade to 'buy', which is supported by 15% total shareholder return to our target price," SocGen said.

Royal Dutch Shell remains a "strong hold" among analysts, according to Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, after the oil major reported a less-than-expected decline in first-quarter profits.

"In all, today’s results have been well received. The group’s integrated business model is again aiding performance, whilst management is taking clear action, including the launch of a takeover for BG Group, in order to boost prospects," analyst Keith Bowman said.

Numis Securities said it continues to see RPS's shares as "good value" despite the consultancy group disappointing the market with a trading update on Thursday.

The broker maintained a 'buy' rating but cut its target price for the stock from 310p to 285p. "The volatility in this sector [energy] means that the outlook is particularly uncertain," Numis cautioned.