Canaccord Genuity raises target price on MJ Gleeson

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity raised their target price on housebuilder MJ Gleeson from 780.0p to 810.0p on Friday following a "positive" update at the group's annual general meeting.

Canaccord said MJ Gleeson's "strong update" confirmed that the group was enjoying build and sales activity back at pre-Covid levels in its Gleeson Home unit, with demand remaining solid and the company seeing "good progress" adjusting its price upwards in the current market.

The Canadian bank, which also reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock, pointed out that MJG's Strategic Land division was also seeing a pick-up in activity, which it said supported its expectations for the full year.

"Gleeson Homes is clearly seeing very good trading as well as the group bringing on more sites," said the analysts.

"We now expect higher volumes as well as a significantly higher average selling price for the current financial year which results in a significant profit upgrade for FY2021."

Canaccord also highlighted that it was "even more confident" that MJG will achieve its 2022 target of 2,000 completions and expects dividends to gradually resume in the current financial year.