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About 20% of engineer Bodycote's work comes from the toxic automotive industry in Europe and the US.

The group is cash generative and has a minimal pension deficit, they say, but analsysts says the sector is going through the downgrade phase. The group's inherent value indeed may yet emerge, but it could well be after a long period of pain for investors. Sell says the Independent.

Sausage maker Cranswick's shares are in the unusual position of having grown in value in the last three months. Sadly, this does make the stock expensive, with watchers at Citigroup pointing out that, trading on a 2009 price earnings ratio of 8.9 times, the group comes at a 25% premium to the UK's mid-cap food producers. Cranswick shares are pricey, but most investors are looking for those companies that should be able to weather the looming recession. Buy says the Independent.

The problem for investors in Cranswick is that profits are not growing particularly fast and the shares are not especially cheap. It is also facing the near-term conjunction of one of its busiest trading periods (November and December) with one of the quietest (January and February) at a time when rising unemployment has yet to bite. Avoid says the Times.

Devro, the group that makes collagen products for the food industry, including sausage skins, updated the market yesterday, saying that it was on target and that its full-year profits will hit expectations. Broker upped thier price targets to 85p, which indicates that the group should be a safe bet, but also suggests that there is not much juice left in the stock price. Hold for now.

There can be few signals that stand out in the present stock market as strongly as distributor Diploma's 39% rise in the full-year dividend. Even after yesterday's share price jump to 129p, Diploma, with £16m of net cash, still sits at less than eight times earnings. Hold says the Times.

Shares in Ultra Electronics, the mid-cap maker of sonar buoys and weapon-launching systems have barely moved from their level of 12 months ago and have outperformed the FTSE all-share index by 46%. At £11.01, or 12 times 2009 earnings, the shares might look dear relative to a depressed stock market, but Ultra has modest borrowings and is growing profits at around 15%. Hold on says the Times.

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