RESEARCH ALERT - J.P. Morgan names top LatAm picks
Reuters, Monday, February 09, 1998 at 09:39
NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - J.P. Morgan analysts picked
their 14 best Latin American stocks for this year, with
Brazilian steel maker Companhia Siderurgica Tubarao (SAO:CST) in
the top spot.
A partial and edited text of J.P. Morgan's analysis
follows:
J..P. Morgan recommends 14 best Latin American stocks for
1998
J.P. Morgan equity analysts present their 14 best Latin
American stock picks for 1998 in nine sectors and project an
average dollar return of 43% for the year. Morgan's top pick
for 1998 is Brazilian steel manufacturer CST with a projected
return of 65%. Analysts have selected companies in the sectors
of banks, beverages, conglomerates, oil & gas, electric
utilities, telecommunications, steel, retailing, and media in
Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela.
Morgan's top picks trade at an attractive average multiple
of 16.4 times 1998 earnings and 11.8 times 1999 earnings.
EBITDA growth for the JPMS focus list should be strong at 28%
this year, resulting in average FV/EBITDA multiples of 7.6
times in 1998 and 5.4 times in 1999.
The selections are: Banco Frances (BUE:FRA) (NYSE:BFR);
beverage companies Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE:KOF), Panamerican
Beverages Inc (NYSE:PB), Quilmes Industrial (LUX:QUIN) (NYSE:LQU); and
conglomerates Alfa (MEX:ALF.A) and Desc Sociedad de Fomento
Industrial SA de CV (NYSE:DES) (MEX:DSC.B).
They also picked media company Grupo Televisa (MEX:TLV.L)
(NYSE:TV), oil company Petrobras (SAO:PET), retailers Cifra SA
(BB:CFRAY) and Kimberly-Clark de Mexico (MEX:KMM.A), steel maker
Companhia Siderurgica de Tubarao, telecommunications companies
Telebras SA (SAO:TEL_.P) (NYSE:TBR) and CANTV (VEN:TDV.D) (NYSE:VNT), and
Brazilian power utility Cerj (SAO:CMI).
J.P. Morgan's top 10 picks for 1997 posted an average price
gain of 47% in dollar terms, outperforming returns of several
market benchmarks, including the S&P 500, DJIA, IFC Investable
Latin America Index, and the MSCI Latin America Index. This
group also exceeded the dollar performance of all Latin stock
markets (except Mexico).
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
