Moneysupermarket set to keep growing quicker than analysts expect, Credit Suisse says

Moneysupermarket.com was set to keep growing its sales quicker than most analysts expected, Credit Suisse said.

The price comparison website also had increasing data expertise and was benefiting from a portfolio effect as its home services arm accounted for an increasing proportion of the group.

"We would flag the group's impressive track record for EPS momentum with sell-side consensus consistently underestimating group growth," analysts Joseph Barnet-Lamb and Sophie Bell said.

Two weeks ahead of the company's first quarter trading update, on 20 April, Barnet-Lamb and Bell lifted their forecast for the firm's top-line growth in fiscal year 2016 from 6.3% to 8.0%, mainly as a result of the strong start to the year in home services and money.

Changing hands on 20.1 times their profit forecasts for 2016, falling to 18.3 times for 2017, they said the shares' valuation was 'undemanding'.

The stock should trade on 25.0 times earnings - due to its "high, structurally driven growth" - for a 20.0% valuation premium to the Euro media space.

That led them to boost their target for Moneysupermarket from 350p to 400p, while retaining their 'outperform' recommendation.

However, that would also leave it at a 14.0% discount to the Euro internet space, they explained.

A target price of 405p was warranted on the basis of a discounted cash-flow approach alone, Credit Suisse said.

As of 15:01 BST shares in the FSTE 250 listed PCW company were rising by 2.92% to 327.70, giving it a market capitalisation of £1,802m.