Santander lowers its recommendation for Imsa to 'hold'

Mexican financial group Santander Serfin lowered its recommendation for steel and industrial conglomerate Grupo Imsa (IMSAUBC.MX) to 'hold' from 'strong buy' after Imsa's shares reached Santander's target price, financial website Invertia reported. On Thursday, Imsa predicted that Ebitda would fall by up to 12% in 2005 due to increases in the cost of raw materials. In its analysis, Santander said it expects Imsa's Ebitda to grow in the first quarter of 2005 but then to fall in the second and third quarters. "This tough outlook could limit the potential of the stock to appreciate," Santander analyst Luis Miranda said. Santander had set a price target for Imsa of US$26 per ADR or 43.20 pesos (US$3.90) per share.