In a report released yesterday, Wee Kuang Tay from CGS-CIMB reiterated a Hold rating on UOB, with a price target of S$36.50.
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Wee Kuang Tay has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors impacting UOB’s financial outlook. The bank has made a significant pre-emptive provision of S$615 million to address potential credit deterioration in its commercial real estate exposure in the US and Greater China. This one-off provision reflects a cautious approach to credit management, but it also indicates that restoring confidence may take time.
Additionally, the anticipated compression in net interest margins (NIM) due to expected interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve is likely to impact UOB’s earnings. Consequently, the earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for FY25, FY26, and FY27 have been reduced. Despite these challenges, the bank’s management remains optimistic about normalizing credit costs and maintaining dividend payouts. However, the potential for further provisioning if credit quality worsens justifies the Hold rating, as the bank navigates through these uncertainties.
According to TipRanks, Kuang Tay is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 3.5% and a 47.06% success rate.
In another report released on November 9, Goldman Sachs also downgraded the stock to a Hold with a S$38.00 price target.