SPH

SPH: is down 4.1% at $4.01, seemingly sharply underperforming the STI's 0.9% rise, but the stock has also gone ex-dividend; it is paying a 17-ct dividend. UOBK says its monthly page-count monitor of SPH's flagship Straits Times suggests decent ad-spend growth of 3%-5% on year in Sep-Nov, with the quarter's average growth at ~4% on year, but the house notes the growth is off 2H11's low base, when ad-spend was affected by the eurozone debt crisis. "Traditionally, SPH's share price has a close relationship with its newspaper advertising-revenue growth. We see weak AR growth capping share price performance, but this is compensated by an attractive dividend yield of more than 5%. In today's global anaemic growth and low interest-rate environment, yield stocks still find favor among investors." The house keeps a Hold call with TP $4.30, tipping a $3.80 entry price.