UBS upgrades ASR Nederland to 'buy' citing 'attractive valuation'

ASR Nederland NV

18/11/2024 10:45

** UBS upgrades Dutch insurance company ASR Nederland
 ASRNL.AS  to "buy" from "neutral", citing an "attractive
valuation relative to history and peer, NN Group"
    ** "ASR's surprise share buyback is a good signal to the
market," says UBS
    ** Broker says it expects further share buybacks of 25
million euros per year above guidance, taking ASR's FY26E all-in
yield to 10%, in line with NN Group
    ** It also sees ASR's Solvency 2 ratio above 200% from FY25
onwards
    ** "By FY27 we expect ASR to have €1.3bn of excess capital
for reinvestment into the business to additional shareholder
returns," says UBS
    ** Shares rise 1.7% to 54.63 euros at 0909 GMT
    ** Of 15 analysts that cover ASR Nederland, 13 rate it
"strong buy" or "buy" and ​two rate "hold"

 (Reporting by Dimitri  Rhodes)
 ((Dimitri.Rhodes@thomsonreuters.com;))