With earnings season continuing to gather pace, there's certainly been a lot to keep brokers busy this month.
Three shares that have managed to find favour with brokers are listed below. Here's why they have buy ratings on them:
Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)
According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, it has retained its overweight rating but lifted the price target on this baby products retailer's shares to $3.00 following the release of its results last week. As well as benefiting from the closure of its competitors, the broker believes that Baby Bunting could be on the brink of a long upgrade cycle thanks to its strong customer satisfaction levels, quality product assortment, and growth in online sales. I agree with Morgan Stanley that Baby Bunting could be one to hold onto.
G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM)
A note out of UBS reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and increased the price target on the childcare centre operator's shares to $2.80. According to the note, the broker has a few concerns over supply, but believes in time the supply and demand balance will return thanks partly to positive changes in government funding. While I do agree that the new government funding could be a positive for G8 Education, I am a little concerned that it could encourage even more supply in the future. Because of this, I would suggest investors wait to see improvements in G8 Education's performance before buying its shares.
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)
Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating and lifted the price target on the property listings company's shares to a lofty $105.00 following the release of a solid full-year result. According to the note, the broker remains confident that a soft property market will still lead to rises in listings. In fact, the broker believes investors ought to focus less on the property market and more on its depth ads as an indicator of future revenue. I think REA Group is a high quality business and one to consider even after its strong share price gain this year.
