Numis ups target price for Ascential, notes higher dividend

Analysts at Numis reiterated their 'buy' recommendation for shares of Ascential following its latest set of full-year numbers, which it described as "strong", highlighting the better-than-expected dividend payout.

The company's outlook was also "encouraging", Numis said, given management's expectations for better sales and profits.

In particular, they noted the company's confidence on the back of "the current level of forward booked revenue."

"The achievements of 2017 have positioned them well to increase their growth rate in revenue and profit in 2018 and the Board is confident in its prospects for continued success," Numis said.

Profits ahead at every level, and debt as expected at 2.3 times' earnings before interest taxes and depreciation, led to a payout of 5.6p per share (Numis: 5.3p).

All in all, following the latest results, Numis revised its estimate for Ascential's earning per share in 2018 from 19.3p to 19.5p and, after rolling forward their target, raised the latter from 405p to 455p.