"Time for Korea's Leading Financial Stock to Be Recognized for Its True Value" [Click e-Stock]

KB Financial Group Enters Phase of Market Value Reappraisal
Market Trust on the Rise

There is an analysis suggesting that the time has come for KB Financial Group to have its market value recognized in line with its intrinsic value. This judgment is based not only on its solid performance but also on its capital ratio advantage, which has enabled the company to implement an active shareholder return policy and earn the trust of the market.

On May 21, NH Investment & Securities raised its target price for KB Financial Group by 15.3% to 226,000 won, citing these factors. The previous day's closing price was 151,700 won. The investment opinion of "Buy" was also maintained.

NH Investment & Securities calculated KB Financial Group's target price by applying a target price-to-book ratio (PBR) of 1.37 times to this year's book value per share (BPS). They explained that as the PBR now exceeds 1, the company has reached a point where its market value can be recognized in line with its intrinsic value.

KB Financial Group has taken the lead not only in performance but also in capital policy and shareholder returns, based on its superior capital ratio. This has been the background for the recovery of market trust.

Due to the government's rationalization of capital regulations, the common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio is expected to rise in the future. However, the reduction in credit risk-weighted assets is expected to be reflected next year.

Even excluding this, the capital ratio remains sufficiently sound. Despite the sharp rise in the won-dollar exchange rate in the first quarter, the CET1 ratio stood firm at 13.63% on the back of solid results. It only declined by 16 basis points (bp, 1bp=0.01%) compared to the previous quarter. The CET1 ratio at the end of June is expected to exceed 13.7%.

Joonseop Jung, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, predicted, "Through the repurchase and cancellation of treasury shares worth approximately 800 billion won in the second half, the total annual shareholder return rate will increase by 4 percentage points year-on-year to 56%."

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