Buy James Fisher shares while they are cheap, Canaccord says

Investors should take advantage of an unusual opportunity to buy James Fisher and Sons shares relatively cheaply, according to analysts at Canaccord Genuity.

The marine services company has a 23-year record of almost uninterrupted rising earnings and dividends, a balanced business and an established strategy, the analysts said as they upgraded the shares to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.

This record has meant the shares are rarely cheap but they have fallen 10% in 2018, more rapidly than the wider market.

At £14.10 the shares at the time of writing were trading at 16 times forecast 2018 earnings compared with an average of 17 times over the past three years.

Annual results on 27 February were good and more than £40m could be freed for acquisitions as capital requirements stabilise. The company’s offshore oil business will probably do better this year and the consensus for 2018 earnings is on the low side, the analysts said.