Australian Shares Recommendations

Macquarie Research Equities’ (MRE) have retained their Neutral recommendation for Westpac Banking (WBC). WBC slipped today -2.6 per cent closing at $24.37. Westpac have matched market expectations but the results did not meet the optimistic expectations built into the share price before the announcement. MRE prefers ANZ and CBA over WBC in the banking sector. Westpac Banking Corporation is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under stock code WBC. Check your charts.

News Corporation is set to report their quarter profit result on 11 May (Australian time). Macquarie Research Equities (MRE) believes that "NWS may deliver a positive surprise to the market with further capital management initiatives and the delivery of strong earnings per share growth of around 27%". MRE has maintained their outperform recommendation for News Corp (NWS) with a share price target of $27.30 - about 14 per cent upside on the current share price. News Corporation is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under stock code NWS. Check your charts.

Citigroup have retained their Buy recommendation for Transurban Group (TCL) with a price target of $7.73 per share. Citigroup has a valuation of $7.37 for TCL which offers an 11 per cent upside to the share price. Transurban Group is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under stock code TCL. Check your charts.

Merrill Lynch has upgraded the rating for CSR Ltd (CSR) stock as Buy moving from Neutral, Medium Risk on forecasting profit in FY07 of $292m, above the consensus of $256m. Merrill Lynch have upgraded their rating as it expects earnings momentum and upgrades will continue to exceed expectations. Merrill Lynch has a stock price valuation for CSR of $3.87. CSR Ltd is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under stock code CSR. Check your charts.

SB Citigroup has upgraded their stock recommendation for Bank Of Queensland (BOQ) to hold, high risk from sell, with the price target rising from $14.50 to $14.60. A sell recommendation was imposed from a previous BOQ valuation. However, an 8 per cent fall against a 3 per cent sector rise has returned the stock price back in to a range that warranted the change in recommendation. SB Citigroup thinks that the Bank Of Queensland (BOQ) has a strong business model and therefore any further weakness due to the rate rise effect should be seen as a buying opportunity.

Credit Suisse has a Neutral rating for Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (CCL). Credit Suisse has warned of cost pressures for the soft drink giant since the last result and the analysts' forecasts have been below consensus for some time. They have not changed their numbers following the downbeat AGM, having already set low levels. They suggest come back in 2008, when there may be some cost relief for CCL. Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under stock code CCL. Check your charts.

Merrill Lynch has downgraded APN News & Media Limited (APN) from Buy, Medium Risk to Neutral based on valuation grounds, as the stock price is close to its valuation of $5.13. There is also a potential for lower earnings from the company's Australian radio operations given the current weakness in that industry. APN News & Media Limited is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under stock code APN. Check your charts.

Macquarie Research Equities (MRE) reiterates their outperform recommendation for the stock Aristocrat Leisure (ALL). MRE have maintained their outperform recommendation despite the weaker Japanese outlook. "The poker-machine manufacturer warned at its AGM that it could post a first-half loss in its Japanese business. Management indicated that proposed changes to regulation, due to take effect on the 1 July 2007, has caused uncertainty in buyers as to whether to take machines which comply with previous guidelines or the proposed new regulations." Shares in Aristocrat fell almost 7%.

UBS rates the Zinifex (ZFX) stock as a Buy 2 recommendation with a price target rising from $10 to $14.50. UBS' favourite commodity is Zinc and the broker notes that Zinifex is "awash with cash", which it believes could lead to dividends of $1 in FY06 and $3 in FY07. Zinifex is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange under the stock code ZFX. Check your charts.

SB Citigroup has a hold, high risk rating for the stock SAI Global(SAI) with a share price target of $3.33, rising by 8 per cent as a result of the acquisition of ILI, a UK-based standards publishing and database subscription company. ILI's margins seem substantially higher than SAI's. Although, because of some accounting adjustments, not all of this flows through immediately to SAI's bottom line. SAI Global stocks are listed in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under stock code SAI.