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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 downgrades SSP to 'hold'

(Sharecast News) - Berenberg downgraded its stance on shares of Upper Crust owner SSP to 'hold' from 'buy' on Thursday and cut the price target to 180p from 280p as it said first-half results outlined earnings risks. "We are fans of the global travel concession market and believe that the structural growth drivers in the industry will support the growth of SSP into the medium term," the bank said.

"That said, we think the majority of the group's growth will now stem from North America and the rest of the world (RoW - i.e. Asia-Pacific, eastern Europe and the Middle East), where the business has significant minority interests.

"Given the potential headwinds to the UK&I (UK & Ireland) rail business, we believe that there are risks to earnings generation over the medium term, with a greater share of SSP's profitability generated in regions with high minority interests."

This has led Berenberg to cut its earnings per share forecasts and it now sits below consensus EPS in FY24, FY25 and FY26.

"Given this potential headwind to near-term earnings, we downgrade our recommendation to hold, with a new price target of 180p," it said.

At 1335 BST, the shares were down 6.4% at 149.70p.

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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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