Canaccord Genuity raises target price on MJ Gleeson

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity raised their target price on householder MJ Gleeson from 810.0p to 850.0p on Friday after the group's interim results confirmed "a good recovery" from 2020's initial lockdown.

Canaccord said MJ Gleeson had seen "a good bounce back in demand", with build rates recovering well, allowing it to deliver a good set of results and be on track to deliver full-year completions above its pre-coronavirus levels.

While Canaccord highlighted that the trading outlook and nature of MJ Gleeson's recovery remained "very important", it also feels the key focus now turns to the next stage for the company.

"Being close to reaching its 2,000 unit target, it will soon review its medium-term targets and along with them its capital allocation policy. We suspect the group will set out a new medium-term completion target with the key characteristics of the business model remaining unchanged," said the analysts.

"We would not be surprised to potentially see one or two more divisions created and more investment in overheads to support this growth over the medium term. We would also expect a progressive dividend policy but one that reflects a focus on growth rather than capital returns."

The Canadian bank believes MJ Gleeson to be "well-positioned in an attractive part of the housing market", which should see good demand for the foreseeable future, leading it to hike its target price and reiterate its 'buy' rating on the stock.