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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

Berenberg ups target for Babcock, cites outlook, leverage, pensions deficit

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Berenberg upped their target price for shares of defence engineer Babcock, from 885.0p to 910.0p. They based their decision on the favourable forecasts for defence markets in the UK and Europe, the "major" steps taken to de-risk the company's pension deficit and the reduction in leverage to below management's own medium-term guidance.

In the case of the latter, they estimated that net debt was standing at 0.3 times EBITDA on a covenant basis at the end of fiscal year 2025.

That compared to guidance for 1.0-2.0 times' over the medium-term.

"This stronger balance sheet offers growing optionality to invest further to sustain organic growth, pursue bolt-on M&A or increase shareholder returns," the analysts pointed out.

Hence, they judged that Babcock was making good progress towards its medium-term guidance.

Berenberg's recommendation for the shares was kept at 'buy'.

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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