Thorntons; sticky, sweet and cheap (THT)

If you are serius about investing rather than just having fun buying those techie dog stocks with "potential", have a look at thorntons. After a poor Easter, the hot summer has hit profits badly and the company expects to make about £6.4 profits this year when the results are announced in about two weeks time. So why am I tipping this as a buy?

This is an excellent company with a strong track record;
Despite all the bad news, the profits are respectable;
The safe dividend returns about 6% this year;
The PE is about 11, falling to below 10 next year;
"Its all in the price" - the share price is low and has plenty of upside for a rerating;

Improving distribution such as via their website, new cafe operations and franchises all give rise to hopes that Xmas trading could be very good. You are not going to fivefold your money in a week with this but neither are you going to lose it all when that talked about "big deal" turns out to be ... talk. Expect a solid increase to about 200p.