Citi raises PT for Australia's Latitude Group; upgrades to 'neutral'

Latitude group

25/02/2024 19:31

** Analysts at Citi hike price target and upgrade rating for
Australian fintech firm Latitude Group Holdings  LFS.AX  on the
back of immateriality of depressed near-term earnings vs
longer-term profitability
    ** Raises price target for LFS to A$1.15 from A$0.95;
upgrades rating to "neutral" from "sell" 
    ** Brokerage lowers its FY24 and FY25 earnings forecast for
LFS by 20% and 12% respectively, largely on a more muted NIM
recovery 
    ** Forecasts a recovery back to FY22 profitability of about
A$150 mln ($98.39 mln) of NPAT by FY26 
    ** "With NIM and receivables having stabilized in 2H23, LFS
faces into 2024 with an incrementally positive environment for
personal credit growth, slowing repayments, the benefit of
repricing initiatives and with a reshaped cost base" - Citi 
    ** None of three analysts rate the stock "buy" or higher,
one "hold" and two "sell"; their median PT is A$0.99 – LSEG data
    ** LFS stock flat YTS, as of last close 

($1 = 1.5246 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew
Cawthorne)
 ((Echha.jain@thomsonreuters.com))