Jefferies upgrades its FY23 earnings estimates for Australia's Harvey Norman

Harvey Norman Holdings

24/11/2022 20:32

** Jefferies upgrades its FY23 profit estimates for
Australian retailer Harvey Norman Holdings  HVN.AX  on
persistent sales momentum
    ** Hikes its FY23 PBT and underlying NPAT outlook for HVN by
14.8% and 14.7%, respectively 
    ** Brokerage also hikes its FY25 and FY25 PBT and underlying
NPAT estimates by 4-5% largely due to more rapid Malaysian
stores rollout
    ** Says price target of A$4.30 remains unchanged given some
offset from higher capex to fund the rollout 
    ** The group has doubled the number of Malaysia stores in
the last five years, but we believe COVID slowed the expansion -
Jefferies
    ** Says expected global material slowdown leaves brokerage
cautious on housing retailers generally, but HVN's substantial
property portfolio & Malaysia rollout opportunity differentiate
it from others
    ** Five of 12 analysts rate the stock "buy" or higher, six
"hold" and one "sell" or lower; their median PT is A$4.47 –
Refinitiv data
    ** Stock has fallen 15.6% this year, as of last close 
 (Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; 
Editing by Sandra Maler)
 ((Echha.jain@thomsonreuters.com))