Broker tips: Vodafone, Johnson Service Group, Hochschild Mining, Greencore

(Sharecast News) - Citi lifted its price target on Vodafone to 100p from 85p on Mponday as it put Kenyan telecoms firm Safaricom in its forecasts. The bank said it believes sentiment remains mixed on Vodafone, despite it being one of the best performing stocks in the telecoms sector in the second half of 2025.

"We see scope for sentiment to build further in the coming quarters, as German revenue trends remain positive for now, while UK merger synergy delivery adds a positive string to the investment case," Citi said.

"That said, Vodafone is perceived as a consolidation 'loser', given the risk of newsflow around any potential German consolidation, while we believe that German trends will return to decline once the 1&1 revenue ramp-up annualises."

Citi also maintained its 'neutral' rating on the stock.Analysts at Berenberg nudged up their target price on Johnson Service Group from 195 to 205p after the group reported "another resilient performance".

Johnson Service Group released what Berenberg called "a reassuring FY25 trading update" on 16 January, which in its view, "attested to the company's resilience", especially in the context of the subdued UK economic/consumer backdrop.

Berenberg highlighted an acceleration in JSG's Workwear unit's growth and further improvement in the firm's underlying earnings margin as standouts of the update.

The German bank also noted that while JSG's organic revenue growth was currently "more modest than recent years", it noted that the business continues to grow adjusted EBIT at double-digit rates, reflected in rising profit margins.

Combined with recent share buyback activity, Berenberg expects JSG to deliver earnings per share growth at rates of 18-21% over FY25- 26.

"Despite this strong earnings growth, its shares have yet to show any material momentum, rising by only 4.9% ytd and at below average multiples," said Berenberg, which has a 'buy' rating on the stock.

"In our view, JSG provides strong growth at very reasonable price. We move our valuation considerations forward a year, upwardly revising our price target by 5% to 205p (44% upside), still only equating to 14.3x FY26 earnings."

JPMorgan downgraded Hochschild Mining on Monday and placed the shares on 'negative catalyst watch' as it took a look at EMEA gold miners.

The bank cut Hochschild to 'neutral' from 'overweight' but lifted its price target on the stock to 670p from 600p.

"As we approach Q425 results season, we see several positive catalysts across the EMEA Gold Miners from both consensus upgrades and excess cash returns, but some room for stock-specific downside risks," the bank said. "We also expect creeping cost inflation, as well as potentially higher government royalties (Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire) to be key focal points."

Nevertheless, JPM said EMEA gold miners still carry attractive valuations, mark-to-market upside versus consensus and strong cash returns potential. JPM also highlighted that it remains positive long term on gold.

RBC Capital Markets has raised its target price for Greencore from 300p to 330p and reiterated an 'outperform' rating on the stock, highlighting the upside potential from the convenience food group's acquisition of Bakkavor.

The deal, which was first announced in May 2025 but only completed this month, sees Greencore take over the smaller peer for £1.2bn, creating a UK convenience food business with over 30,000 employees and combined revenues of £4bn.

According to RBC, the acquisition offers "compelling value creation potential" for Greencore. "We see upside potential from cross-selling, new product development, procurement scale, and expanded customer access," the broker said.

RBC also said that the flagged cost synergy target of £80m within three years - 50% of which is expected within the first year - is "achievable and reflects disciplined integration planning".

Meanwhile, with leverage expecting to fall from 2.4x at the end of September to 1.6x by September 2027, there is potential for additional acquisitions in the future, the broker said.

"Our updated DCF-based price target of 330p implies 10.9x C2027E EV/adjusted EBITA, just below peers at 11.1x. The combination of scale benefits, strong synergy potential, and deleveraging creates a compelling risk-reward for investors in our view," RBC said.