Broker tips: Wickes, Lloyds Banking Group

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Berenberg initiated coverage on home improvement retailer Wickes with a 'buy' rating and a 280p target price on Thursday, stating the group was "building for the future". Berenberg said it likes Wickes for its omnichannel model, which brings convenience for the customer and allows the company "to harness long-term trends" in the UK repair, maintenance and improvement market.

The German bank also highlighted that Wickes' "robust" sales growth, costs efficiency and working capital control had driven "strong" cash generation and self-funded growth.

"Our 280p price target represents c25% upside and is based on our three-stage DCF analysis. It implies an FY 2026E P/E of 14.9x for a threeyear EPS CAGR of 14.5%. Our forecasts are prudently set, in our view, with material upside as Wickes ramps up its new growth ambitions," said Berenberg.

Citi upgraded Lloyds Banking Group on Thursday to 'buy' from 'neutral' as it took a look at European banks, on which it remains 'overweight'.

It also nudged up its price target on Lloyds to 114p from 106p and noted that of the 22 companies mentioned in the report, Lloyds had the largest earnings per share upgrades of any name, with 2027-28E EPS increasing by 7-10%.

Citi said that among European banks, it sees Lloyds as one of the biggest beneficiaries of higher reinvestment yields, in part due to the longer average duration of its hedge versus peers, meaning this should now continue to be a healthy tailwind into 2027 but also into 2028.

"Lloyds also has one of the more compelling non-NII growth stories, where we forecast a further 9% growth in 2026 (similar to 2025), driven by Scottish Widows, LDC, Lloyds Living and the full consolidation of Schroders Personal Wealth on 1st October 2025," it said.