[Click eStock] "Mirae Asset Securities, Shareholder Return Policy Expected... Target Price Up"

On the 7th, IBK Investment & Securities raised the target price for Mirae Asset Securities to 8,700 KRW, stating that it "reflects expectations for the shareholder return policy." The investment opinion was maintained as short-term buy (Trading Buy). The closing price on the previous day was 8,460 KRW.

On the same day, Woo Do-hyung, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, said, "This reflects expectations for the shareholder return policy due to the impact of the corporate value-up program. It also takes into account this year's performance improvement following conservative reserve accumulation last year."

Researcher Woo stated, "In the fourth quarter of last year, Mirae Asset Securities' net income attributable to controlling shareholders was '-159.8 billion KRW,' significantly below the market forecast of -27.5 billion KRW. This was due to overseas real estate valuation losses and conservative reserve accumulation related to Taeyoung Construction and real estate project financing (PF)." The annual net income attributable to controlling shareholders last year was 286.9 billion KRW, a 52.3% decrease compared to the previous year. The impact of recognizing domestic and overseas real estate-related costs was significant. Although cost burdens are expected to ease this year, related risks still remain.

Brokerage-related profits decreased by 20.0% quarter-on-quarter due to a decline in transaction volume and an increase in interest expenses. Investment banking (IB) and other income decreased by 9.7% quarter-on-quarter due to risk management. Despite increased operating profits from trading and other activities due to falling interest rates, poor performance was recorded due to increased bond interest expenses and the reflection of real estate-related reserves.

Researcher Woo said, "Mirae Asset Securities is implementing a shareholder return policy with a payout ratio of 30%, but it will announce a new medium-term shareholder return policy (for the next three years) within the first half of this year. A more shareholder-friendly return policy than before is expected to be presented. Dividends and the dividend record date will be announced on the 22nd."

Regarding the reason for maintaining the investment opinion as short-term buy, he explained, "Risks related to domestic and overseas real estate still exist. The shareholder return policy also struggles to have a differentiated advantage compared to competitors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.