STHR

Landsbanki analyst Ian Jermin has this week entered Shares’ Top 50 calls list at position 16 with his positive take on recruitment agency SThree (STHR). He upgraded the stock from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ at 168p on 22 July after half-year results were better than expected, and his call is currently yielding a 26.7% return.

The staffer turned in a resilient performance in the UK and strong gains overseas. Jermin believes there will be less of a seasonal bias towards the second half, making him more comfortable the £60 million pre-tax profit forecast for the year can be met.

Having hit Jermin’s 220p target price in August, SThree eased back until last week’s interim management statement which gave a new lease of life to the stock. Chief executive Russell Clements warned about more challenging UK conditions, but reassured the market by saying the international business continues to do well.

by Dan Coatsworth