Barclays turns neutral on Edenred, seeing near-term hurdles to recovery
** Barclays cuts French vouchers provider Edenred EDEN to "equal-weight" from "overweight" citing a "complicated recovery" in the near term
** Shares down 2.3% at 0742 GMT
** "We believe the company is entering a period of regulatory adjustments and macro challenges that are likely to weigh on mid-term growth," the broker says
** It doesn't see better visibility on regulatory changes, growth acceleration from recent acquisitions, favourable macro conditions or cost savings in Italy over the next 12 months
** "This, in turn, may leave Edenred facing another year of being a 'value trap' as the robust margin growth is overshadowed by near-term growth/EPS uncertainty," it adds
** Barclays still considers underlying business fundamentals and margin growth outlook as robust
** "We remain confident of EDEN returning to double-digit LFL growth once macro risks fade," the broker says
** Out of 19 analysts that cover Edenred, 12 rate it "strong buy" or "buy", five "hold" and two "strong sell" or "sell"