The five Spanish stocks that start with the best recommendation for 2022

The two Ibex steel companies, ArcelorMittal and Acerinox, are the index’s favorite companies for analysts at this turn of the year. They are closely followed by ACS, Cellnex and Grifols, although without taking their eyes off Rovi, who has just joined the squad lurking in fifth place.

The wick of the expected rally Christmas has fallen short for the Ibex 35, which has lagged this 2021. However, in the opinion of analysts, this situation creates good opportunities in many of the index’s securities, which are trading at attractive levels and have good recommendations.

Of all the selective companies, ArcelorMittal, Acerinox, ACS, Cellnex and Grifols are the ones that lead the Ibex League -the ranking prepared by the Economist that combines the recommendations of Bloomberg and FactSet-. These five companies are the ones that end 2021 and start 2022 with the best advice from investment banks, although we must not take our eyes off Rovi, which is hot on Grifols’ heels after entering the 35 index for the first time.

Among the top 10 are also Almirall, Endesa, Indra and IAG, some of them punished in 2021 and in which analysts see good investment opportunities. In the queue, Red Eléctrica, Naturgy and Sabadell establish themselves as the worst Ibex 35 recommendations this year.

ArcelorMittal, the ‘gold’ of the Ibex 35

The steelmaker started the year in fifth position and since it reached the top of the ranking in March – something that had not happened since January 2019 – it has not moved from the leadership, except for a week in November in which it was surpassed by Acerinox. It is also established as the fourth most bullish company in the entire Ibex, advancing in the year more than 50% in the stock market.

Analysts’ confidence in the company is supported by positive forecasts as, as stated by its CEO, underlying demand is expected to continue improving and steel prices will remain high. In fact, he’s on his way to achieving his best profit ever. With more than 9,500 million euros accumulated in the first nine months of the year, the analysts gathered by FactSet estimate that the steelmaker will close 2021 approaching 13,000 million in profit, something never seen since the merger of Arcelor and Mittal in 2006.

Its current upside potential is around 44%, with a price target of 41.48 euros and a buy recommendation. Added to this are the two share buyback programs worth 1,220 million that the company announced in February.

Acerinox ranks as the second best recommendation on the Ibex 35 and advanced more than 20% in the year. The rebound in steel prices together with the increase in demand have contributed to the attractiveness of the steelmaker’s price. Likewise, by reducing its indebtedness by 1.2 times / ebitda this year, the company has returned to the share buy-back program, which in Sabadell they see as “the reflection of a good evolution in results this year, of the generation of box and good prospects. ”

It hit highs on November 1, trading around 12 euros, and from FactSet, analysts give it a higher target price of 15.96 euros per share, which represents an upside potential of about 45%. His current recommendation is to buy.

The key to ACS, the potential investment

ACS has lost around 20% in the year, although since it hit the lowest in July, it has recovered around 8%. In the Ibex League of 2021 takes the bronze in the recommendations. In the first half of the year, the company chaired by Florentino Pérez announced the sale of its industrial business to Vinci, for a total of up to 5,589 million euros. The pandemic context added to the uncertainty of ACS’s new roadmap after the sale, led the company to be the cheapest value in its sector in all of Europe.

From Bankinter, they see “the potential investment of the more than 5,000 million obtained and of which the company has not yet completed any operation” as one of the keys to the recovery.

In the last publication of results, ACS exceeded the estimates. Singular Bank believes that these results “show that the group has adequate geographic diversification and a significant order book that will allow it to take advantage of the current macroeconomic situation.” ACS has a potential upside of more than 40%, a price target of 31.74 and a buy recommendation.

Coming off the podium, Cellnex and Grifols are the next with the best recommendations. The telecommunications company increased by around 7% in the year and its ambitious acquisition strategy, which is based on the macro capital increase of more than 7,000 million euros and the debt issues, aimed at financing purchases in the which is basing its growth – it aims to achieve 3,500 million in ebitda and 4,300 in revenue by 2025 -, have led it to lead the telecommunications towers in Europe. According to the valuations, it has an upside potential of more than 32%, with a target price of 64.85 euros per share and a buy recommendation.

Grifols dropped more than 30% in the year, although it has bounced almost 7% from the lows of December 6. Currently, the company’s priority is to reduce leverage and, in Bankinter’s opinion, the punishment should stop: “Grifols is the Spanish pharmacy most exposed to a resurgence of Covid-19 and we expected a worsening of sentiment to impact its price We believe that the downward adjustment has already taken place. ” It has a consensus buy recommendation with a potential of 63%.