Tesco ‘top of the stocks' for investors

Tesco has been named ‘top of the stocks' by investors, despite recently revealing its first set of negative results in twenty years. In a recent poll, clients of Barclays Stockbrokers named the supermarket giant as the retail stock with the best investment potential currently.

The research found that almost half (47%) of respondents favour Tesco, while only one in five (18%) back rival supermarket Sainsbury's.  High street retailer Marks and Spencer took 14% of the vote, while other high street names were less popular; Halfords received 8% of the votes and Dixons and HMV 7% and 5% respectively. WH Smith was selected by just 1% of respondents.

When asked about their outlook for the retail sector, over half (54%) of respondents said that the UK retail sector was on their radar - two fifths (39%) said they are already holding UK retail stocks in their investment portfolio, while 15% said they were interested in the sector and were currently monitoring it for opportunities. However, nearly a third (30%) said they were avoiding the sector as they think the outlook is uncertain and another 16% admitted they are not currently interested in the sector at all.

Paul Inkster, Head of Product, Barclays Stockbrokers, said: "We've seen a great deal of activity in the UK retail sector recently, with a number of profit announcements in the past month, and the opening of Westfield Stratford City - the largest shopping centre in Europe. Our research reveals investors favour supermarket giant Tesco for investment opportunities in the UK retail sector, and while there is a mixed outlook on the sector among clients, we expect investors to keep a close eye on it in the lead up to the Christmas season to ensure they can maximise the potential investment opportunities."