Citi sets 'neutral' rating on Australia's Vicinity Centres, hikes PT

Vicinity Centres

15/02/2024 19:54

** Citi sets "neutral" rating on retail investment firm
Vicinity Centres  VCX.AX , hikes PT to A$2.10 from A$2.00
    ** Brokerage sees development activity delays rental growth
in the short term with re-positioned growth in the medium term 
    ** VCX ended 0.5% higher on Thursday 
    ** More optimistic of a bottoming of discretionary spend in
2024 followed by a stronger than expected recovery in FY25 which
should benefit underlying sales of VCX - Citi
    ** Vicinity Centres on Thursday posted net profit from
ordinary activities after tax attributable of A$223.5
mln($145.59 mln), compared with A$176.3 mln
    ** However, the co said it has a cautious near-term outlook
    ** Two of 12 analysts rate the stock "buy" or higher, seven
"hold" and three "sell" or lower; their median PT is A$2.01 –
LSEG data
    ** Stock ended 2% higher in 2023



($1 = 1.5352 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Neha Soni in Bengaluru)
 ((Neha.Soni@thomsonreuters.com))