Hyundai Steel stock price target cut due to weak momentum

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Steel stock price target has been reduced to 62,000 won (US$52.41) from 67,000 won by Eugene Investment & Securities, citing the steelmaker’s limited earnings momentum in the second half of this year.

“Hyundai Steel’s sales (excluding affiliates) for the second quarter are expected to grow 0.3 percent to 3.71 trillion won and its operating profit will fall 16.6 percent to 354.1 billion won which is in line with analysts’ estimates,” Bang Min-jin, an analyst at Eugene said.

The analyst said Hyundai Steel’s meaningful improvement in earnings will occur if the price of automotive steel plates increases.

“Taking account of Hyundai-Kia’s profitability and the raw material price which has stabilized, there’s uncertainty that there will be a price hike for automotive steel plates,” she said.

The securities firm maintained a “buy” rating on Hyundai Steel as the firm’s stock has an attractive valuation based on its ability to generate stable revenue with price-earnings ratio of 7.0.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)