Broker tips: Rio Tinto, Anglo American, SABMiller, Kingfisher

LONDON (ShareCast) - Mining giants Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) and Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) were under the cosh in London as analysts at Barclays Capital lowered their recommendations on both stocks after slashing their commodity prices forecasts. The broker downgraded its rating on Rio from 'overweight' to 'equal weight', cautioning that the company may struggle to continue combating the ongoing iron ore price freefall. Meanwhile, Anglo was lowered from 'equal weight' to 'underweight' ahead of a "very difficult" first half given its commodity exposure.

Brewing group SABMiller (Xetra: BRW1.DE - news) has been hit with a downgrade by Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS - news) from 'neutral' to 'underperform', with the bank saying that its premium valuation is "unwarranted".

Credit Suisse said it doesn't expect any margin improvement at SABMiller over the next two financial years. Meanwhile, the bank quashed ongoing M&A speculation regarding Belgian brewer AB Inbev, saying that SABMiller is unlikely a bid target at current levels.

Kingfisher (LSE: KGF.L - news) has been lowered from 'hold' to 'sell' over at Investec (LSE: INVP.L - news) , with the broker saying it sees no sign of a recovery at the DIY retailer any time soon.

The recent re-rating of the stock to a price-to-earnings multiple of 15.5 on 2016 estimates - the sector trades at just 14.7 times earnings - means that Kingfisher is trading at a "demanding" valuation above its 10-year average.