Citi, Jefferies upbeat on Australia's Coles on mitigated impact from Woolworth's Disney campaign

The Walt Disney

25/08/2026 22:33

    ** Analysts at Citi see around A$1.5 bln ($1.08 bln) of
surplus capital available for Coles'  COL.AX  capital management
    ** Brokerage downgrades Australia's No.2 grocer to "neutral"
from "buy" as "good news mostly priced in"
    ** Citi increases target price for stock to A$24.00/shr from
A$23.00/shr
    ** Brokerage says management commentary on earnings call
indicated surplus capital will be returned to shareholders
    ** Jefferies also remains positive on Coles on potential
benefit from packaged food inflation & trading in from
restaurants
    ** Both brokerages upbeat on the fact that impact to Coles
from Woolworths'  WOW.AX  Ooshies program was not as severe as
expected
    ** Coles on Tuesday reported underlying net profit of A$1.26
bln for year ended June 28
    ** Stock up 10.8% YTD, as of last close

($1 = 1.3953 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru)
 ((shivangi.lahiri@thomsonreuters.com))