Australia's Netwealth swings on mixed quarter; Citi sees green shoots

Netwealth

13/10/2022 03:20

** Wealth manager Netwealth Group Ltd  NWL.AX  advances as
much as 1.9% to A$12.29, marking its third consecutive gaining
session
    ** NWL reversed course from earlier in the day, when it
declined up to 2.7% to its lowest since June 24
    ** Says funds under administration (FUA) at A$58.10 bln
($36.49 bln) as at Sept-end, an 11.8% growth from a year ago 
    ** FUA net inflows were at A$2.94 bln, below A$4.04 bln a
year ago
    ** Analysts at Citi estimate that underlying flows were
stronger in the latter part of the September quarter — a
positive for the wealth manager
    ** Adds that decline of cash balance to 7.5% as of Sept from
7.9% as of June could reflect customers moving platform cash
balances to higher earning term-deposits
    ** Brokerage, which rates NWL "neutral" with a price target
of A$13.25, sees market volatility, increased competition, and
regulatory risks impacting NWL's valuation
    ** Four of 10 analysts rate the stock "buy" or higher, five
"hold" and one "sell"; their median PT is A$14.40 – Refinitiv
data
    ** NWL down 31.8% this year, as of last close, vs a 6.5%
decline in the ASX 200 Financials index  .AXFJ  
($1 = 1.5924 Australian dollars)
 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))