[Click eStock] "Too High... Hanwha Ocean Investment Rating Downgraded"

On the 20th, Korea Investment & Securities downgraded its investment opinion on Hanwha Ocean to 'Neutral,' stating that the stock price has risen too much and cannot be explained by the corporate valuation results. Hanwha Ocean's closing price on the previous day was 78,200 KRW, more than 2.5 times higher than in early December last year. This is significantly higher than the target price of 63,000 KRW, which Korea Investment & Securities raised on the 31st of last month.

However, Korea Investment & Securities analyzed that Hanwha Ocean's growth potential remains unchanged. The key is the US Philly shipyard.

Analyst Kang Kyung-tae said, "The reason the US government is amending laws to open its domestic warship construction market to allied countries is to buy time needed to restore its domestic shipbuilding infrastructure," adding, "Since the second half of last year, Hanwha Ocean USA International, which holds a 40% stake in the Philly shipyard, has been steadily investing funds, likely for capital expenditures (CAPEX) to change the yard layout or expand the dock."

It is expected that the Philly shipyard will grow into a key shipyard in the US, connecting Huntington Ingalls and General Dynamics Electric Boat.

However, the investment opinion was downgraded to neutral.

He stated, "Even using various measurable methods, it is difficult to explain Hanwha Ocean's current valuation," and added, "There are limits to simply increasing the valuation multiple without changing earnings forecasts." He further noted, "While there is room for further stock price increases depending on news flow attracting market attention, if it is beyond explainable grounds, we will lower the investment opinion and seek new ideas."

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