It was another busy week for Australia's top brokers. This has led to the release of a number of broker notes.
Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here's why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:
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Guzman Y Gomez Ltd (ASX: GYG)
According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this burrito seller's shares with an improved price target of $26.70. Morgans was pleased with the company's third-quarter update last week. It highlights that Guzman Y Gomez delivered a meaningful acceleration in Australian comparable store sales growth. It believes this provides tangible evidence that the business is executing well against a challenging consumer backdrop. In addition, Morgans points out that transaction growth continued to outpace comparable store sales growth. This maintains the company's growth strategy to be volume and frequency-led rather than price-driven. The Guzman Y Gomez share price ended the week at $20.68.
Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)
A note out of UBS reveals that its analysts have upgraded this fashion jewellery retailer's shares to a buy rating with a $26.00 price target. UBS points out that Lovisa's shares have fallen heavily this year. This has been driven by concerns over slower store growth, softer like-for-like sales in the Australian market, and ongoing losses from the new Jewells store brand. However, the broker believes much of this is now priced in. Furthermore, it believes the resilience of Lovisa's youth-focused, low price point offering is underappreciated by the market, and expects management to prevent sustained losses from Jewells. This will be by either fixing the business or considering a closure. The Lovisa share price was fetching $23.32 at Friday's close.
Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG)
Analysts at Morgans have upgraded this pharmacy chain operator and wholesale distributor's shares to a buy rating with a $3.36 price target. According to the note, the broker is forecasting Sigma to deliver strong earnings growth over the medium term. This is expected to be supported by same store sales growth, store rollouts, and synergies from the Chemist Warehouse merger. In light of this and recent share price weakness, Morgans sees now as a good time to invest. The Sigma Healthcare share price ended the week at $2.69.
