Jefferies has repeated its ‘buy’ and 130p a share price target on the stock in Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA) after the energy giant weighed in with better-than-expected full-year results on Thursday.
The company’s underlying profits (adjusted EBIT) of £3.31bn was 23% higher than the company's compiled consensus of £2.7bn, the bank's analysts pointed out.
Earnings per share (EPS) of 34.9p were 10% ahead of estimates and 13% higher than Jefferies' own number.
The ‘beat’ was attributed to strong results in the energy marketing & trading division.
Jefferies also noted that the British Gas owner’s free cash flow before movements in variation and collateral of £1.2bn and various pension movements of £0.6bn was £2.5bn.
Centrica's strong results have been welcomed by analysts, who believe that the company has turned a corner and is on a path to recovery.
The stock, which is up 14% year-to-date, was trading sideways in the early afternoon session on Friday at 104.8p.
Of the 15 banks and brokerages covering Centrica, 13 are positive of the stock. The consensus price target chimes with Jefferies's valuation of 130p.