BNPP Exane downgrades Compass Group, shares slide

(Sharecast News) - Compass Group slumped on Wednesday after BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of the catering firm to 'underperform' from 'outperform'. The bank said it was turning more cautious on Compass as its proprietary data set on US employee layoffs has suggested that industry-wide client retention has deteriorated, particularly in the US Healthcare vertical.

"This challenges a major pillar of our industry thesis, and we turn cautious on contract catering," it said.

"While the recent share price weakness in this long-term blue-chip compounder might seem like a buying opportunity, we take a different stance and downgrade Compass," it said, cutting the price target to 2,500p from 3,000p.

The bank reiterated its 'underperform' rating on Sodexo and said Aramark was its sole 'outperform'.

At 0920 GMT, Compass shares were down 4.3% at 2,510p.