Citi upgrades Hammerson to ‘buy’

Citi upgraded Hammerson to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ on Wednesday and lifted the price target to 43p from 26p, saying it was entering a "new positive up cycle".

It said that having sold the low-yielding value retail business, it believes "Hammerson can finally look forward to growth at a time when shopping centre asset values and rents are likely to grow from a low-base as a new positive real estate cycle emerges".

The bank increased its price target and revised its estimates to reflect higher net asset value and earnings per share, and "with around 48% expected total return we upgrade to buy".

Citi noted the shares trade at a significant discount versus past growth cycles.

"Applying historical growth cycle multiples to our estimates suggests a valuation corridor of 43.6p to 76.1p, offering upside potential to support our buy rating," it said.

At 1005 BST, the shares were up 0.7% at 30p.