[Click eStock] "KB Geumyung, Highest Shareholder Return Rate in Industry... Target Price Up"

KB Financial Group, Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Yuanta Securities evaluated KB Financial Group as having the highest shareholder return ratio among the banking sector on the 13th. Accordingly, it maintained a 'Buy' investment rating and raised the target price to 76,000 KRW.

Researcher Taejun Jeong of Yuanta Securities stated, "KB Financial's 2023 shareholder return ratio, calculated based on the cancellation date, is 37.5%, the best within the sector."

Researcher Jeong explained the reason for raising the target price, saying, "In addition, KB Financial announced a plan to repurchase and cancel treasury shares worth 320 billion KRW, reaffirming its commitment to shareholder returns."

KB Financial's fourth-quarter net income attributable to controlling shareholders was 261.5 billion KRW, falling short of the consensus estimate of 448.1 billion KRW. The lower-than-expected fourth-quarter net income was due to provisions. KB Financial set aside 593 billion KRW for real estate project financing (PF) and economic response, about 200 billion KRW for group voluntary retirement costs, and 245 billion KRW for bank livelihood support as provisions. Nevertheless, the fourth-quarter dividend per share of 1,530 KRW was higher than the expected 1,470 KRW.

Researcher Jeong added, "The target price was raised due to the expected improvement in return on equity (ROE) for 2024 from proactive provision accumulation and a reduction in the discount rate due to strengthened shareholder returns."

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