Top of the Street: Aalberts, Babcock, European airports and chemical firms
20/05/2026 12:37
A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's top-ranked* analysts: ** Exane BNP Paribas ups Spanish airport operator Aena AENA.MC and its Swiss peer Flughafen Zuerich FHZN.S to "outperform" from "neutral", citing attractive valuations and strong protection from stock depreciation despite geopolitical risks ** Peel Hunt upgrades British defense contractor Babcock International BAB.L to "buy" from "add", as the brokerage continues to envisage potential mid- to high-teens percentage earnings growth over the medium term and beyond ** Jefferies raises German chemicals distributor Brenntag BNRGn.DE to "hold" from "underperform", saying the chemicals distributor should benefit from lower demand elasticity than peers while higher prices offer a near-term boost to the company's earnings ** Jefferies also upgrades chemicals maker Evonik EVKn.DE to "buy" from "hold", citing its more defensive demand, relative pricing agility and earnings resilience compared to peers INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS ** Barclays initiates coverage of Aalberts AALB.AS with "overweight" rating and a PT of 43 euros, citing the Dutch industrial manufacturer's underappreciated shift towards structural growth (*Analyst rankings from Thomson Reuters StarMine. The scale is from 1-star to 5-star with 5 being the best. Analysts are ranked on earnings accuracy as well as relative performance of recommendations over trailing 12-month & 24-month periods.) (Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova and Mateusz Rabiega) ((Anastasiia.Kozlova@thomsonreuters.com; Mateusz.Rabiega@thomsonreuters.com))