Brokerages have issued a string of favorable assessments on the share price outlook for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180.KS). Analysts say the shipbuilder has already exceeded its annual order targets for commercial vessels and engines this year, and that a large volume of orders still to come makes an earnings improvement through 2028 likely.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries traded at 468,000 won as of 9:08 a.m. on the 15th, down 11,000 won, or 2.30%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. Other large shipbuilders were also slightly weaker, with Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS) down 2.91% and Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS) down 3.62%, as the broader market showed little upward momentum. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS), the two largest stocks by market value on the KOSPI, were little changed.
Brokerages have turned positive on the outlook for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. IBK Investment & Securities said in a report on the same day that it was raising its target price for the company to 840,000 won from 816,000 won. That is about 79% above the closing price of 470,000 won on the 14th. "We expect the shipbuilding industry to maintain double-digit profit growth rates through 2028," said Jang Sung-ho, an analyst at IBK Investment & Securities. "We expect the boom to be prolonged on the back of strong orders for LNG carriers going forward."
Analysts say that while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has already exceeded its annual order targets for commercial vessels and engines this year, many orders are still to be won. That has strengthened expectations that the earnings improvement will hold for some time on the strength of its order volume. IBK Investment & Securities projected the company's revenue and operating profit this year at 24.6418 trillion won and 3.9919 trillion won, up 40.2% and 95.9% respectively from the same period a year earlier.
Other brokerages had already raised their target prices for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries amid the order boom. Shinyoung Securities (001720.KS) said on the 19th of last month that it was issuing a buy rating on the company and raising its target price to 1 million won. NH Investment & Securities followed on the 11th of this month, lifting its target to 720,000 won.
