[Click eStock] Thanks to 'Nim' and Treasury Shares... Hana Financial Maintains 'Buy'

Hana Financial Group defended its target stock price through solid profit margins and share buybacks despite lower-than-expected earnings.

On the 5th, Korea Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 93,000 KRW, citing the bank's rising net interest margin (NIM) and a 400 billion KRW share buyback, even though Hana Financial Group's Q4 net profit announced the previous day was 513.5 billion KRW, falling 5% short of the market consensus.

The quarterly NIM of Hana Bank, Hana Financial Group's main subsidiary, rose 5 basis points from the previous quarter to 1.46%. However, regarding the lower-than-expected net profit, analyst Baek Doosan explained, "Despite steady fee income, other non-interest income fell short of expectations."

On the same day, Hana Financial Group announced plans for a 400 billion KRW share buyback and cancellation. Analyst Baek Doosan stated, "Annual share buybacks and cancellations in 2025 are expected to increase by 65% year-on-year to 653.1 billion KRW," adding, "Despite exchange rate and political uncertainties, fundamentals remain solid, so we suggest focusing more on shareholder return momentum."

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