Australia's Reliance Worldwide rises after Jefferies upgrades to 'buy'

Reliance Worldwide

27/10/2023 01:03

** Shares of Australia's Reliance Worldwide Corp Ltd
 RWC.AX  rise as much as 2% to A$3.540
    ** Jefferies upgrades to "buy" from "hold", but cuts price
target to A$3.96 from A$4.17
    ** Plumbing products firm RWC on Thursday reported lower
sales for Q1, in line with its FY24 forecast
    ** Jefferies trims Europe, Middle East and Africa sales
forecasts by 7% 
    ** Brokerage says at current valuation levels and recent
underperformance to larger peer James Hardie Industries Plc
 JHX.AX , it sees this as a compelling entry point for RWC
    ** Says transfer of production of SharkBite Max to the
United States and cost-out initiatives will continue to improve
EBITDA margins over the medium term and deliver earnings growth
    ** Ten of 15 analysts rate the stock "buy" or higher, and
five "hold"; their median PT is A$4.25 – LSEG data
    ** Stock up 17.2% YTD, as of last close

 (Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru)
 ((Aaditya.GovindRao@thomsonreuters.com;))