BUZZ-Ladbrokes: surprise hold of dividend squeezes short sellers

** Ladbrokes (LSE: LAD.L - news) rises 6.8 pct after FY results despite falling profits and a poor medium term outlook as company sticks with its dividend

** Dividend left unchanged, yield of 7.6 pct the highest on the FTSE 250, though projected to fall to 5 pct in the next 12 months

** Meaningful short positions (>0.5 pct) have doubled to 5.3 pct in the last month, according to FCA filings, but stock trades up despite lacklustre results, suggesting a squeeze and some profit taking on short positions

** Stock hit by a downgrade on Feb. 23 by top-ranked analyst Deutsche: cuts target price by 32 pct to 112p, now the second-lowest among 20 analysts covering stock, previously the highest according to Thomson Reuters data

** Co looks troubled in the medium term, but value investors could see additional weakness as an attractive entry point

** Trading on fwd P/E of 14.6 v 22.1 for peers, also attractive on EV/EBITDA basis at 8x v 12.8x for peers. Chart: http://link.reuters.com/zuq24w

** One of the most undervalued companies in Europe on an intrinsic basis, according to StarMine: says shares have a fair value of 208p v 121p current price (RM (LSE: RM.L - news) : alasdair.pal.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)