Australia's Hub24 and Netwealth to be more competitive -Citi

Hub24

12/01/2023 03:31

** Citi expects Australian small-cap wealth platform players
HUB24  HUB.AX  and Netwealth  NWL.AX  to be more competitive
this year and get better revenue margins from higher cash rates
    ** But Citi downgrades HUB to 'neutral,' saying the
risk-reward situation is not compelling; keeps 'neutral' on NWL
    ** Citi raises FY23 NPAT guidance for HUB and NWL by 11% and
4%, respectively, mainly on "positive market movement" in Q2
    ** Brokerages says Sept-qtr was likely positive for both
companies after a softer-than-expected June-qtr
    ** Expects higher-than-expected wage costs due to tight
labour market partially offset by slower-than-expected hiring
    ** NWL up 3.1% on the day, while HUB is down 0.6%
    ** NWL stock slumped ~32% in 2022, while HUB slipped 6%
 (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru)
 ((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com;))