Deutsche Bank downgrades Berkeley to 'hold' from 'buy'

(Sharecast News) - Deutsche Bank downgraded Berkeley Group to 'hold' from 'buy' on Friday and slashed the price target. The bank noted that against a backdrop of subdued demand and a challenging regulatory environment, Berkeley has announced that it will cease buying land and will restrict WIP investment to prevailing rates of reservation.

"The consequence of this and continuing challenging markets, is that profit before tax is expected to decline more than 20% between FY26 and FY28," DB said.

"This results in return on equity trending at circa 7%, which alongside lower levels of expected shareholder returns, results in the target price falling to 3,685p (4,600p previously).

"This is marginally below FY26 NTA, which we think balances depressed near-term returns, with potential upside from the PRS venture and a market recovery."

At 1225 BST, the shares were down 1.5% at 3,314.00p.