Berenberg nudges target price on 'well positioned' MJ Gleeson higher

Analysts at Berenberg nudged up their target price on construction group MJ Gleeson from 750.0p to 765.0p on Tuesday, stating the group appeared to be "well positioned to return to growth".

Berenberg stated that along with most of the other UK housebuilders, MJ Gleeson was emerging from a period of "hibernation and working" to establish new practices, as well as ways of working and of interacting with customers.

With limited numbers of completions or land transactions due before the end of June, Berenberg said the company would be focused on recovery in 2021 and a re-acceleration into 2022.

"We continue to think it has a differentiated proposition among the listed housebuilders and that, in time, annual completions can move back towards the original 2,000 pa target, with pricing recovering some of the ground it has lost in recent years," said Berenberg.

The German broker updated its numbers to reflect fewer completions in 2020, disruptions to its Strategic Land business and equity issues, but still chose to reiterate its 'buy' rating on MJ Gleeson.