Australia's Downer EDI gains as Macquarie raises PT, earnings view

DOWNER EDI

15/02/2024 03:20

** Shares of Downer EDI  DOW.AX  extend gains to rise as
much as 6.4% to A%5.095, their highest since Dec. 1, 2022
    ** Stock one of the top gainers on the S&P ASX 200 benchmark
index  .AXJO  
    ** Analysts at Macquarie raise price target to A$4.90 from
A$4.10 and maintain "Neutral" rating 
    ** Increases earnings estimates for DOW by 4%, 14% and 8%
for FY24, FY25 and FY26 respectively 
    ** Contracting firm had reported interim attributable profit
after tax A$72.1 mln ($46.76 mln), compared to A$68.1 mln last
year
    ** Broker lifts EBITA margins forecast for FY25 and FY26 to
3.9% and 4.1%, higher than FY24's estimate of 3.2% but lower
than DOW's target of above 4.2% in FY25 and above 4.5% over FY25
and FY26
    ** About 2.4 mln shares change hands, compared with the
30-day average volume of 1.2 mln
    ** Avg rating of eight analysts, including Macquarie's, an
equivalent of 'hold;' their median PT is A$4.63 - LSEG data
    ** Stock has risen 8.9% this year as of last close


($1 = 1.5420 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru)
 ((Sneha.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com;))