Maybank starts Hutchison Port at 'buy'
Maybank Kim Eng initiated coverage of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust with a 'buy' rating and a target price of $0.925, citing an attractive distribution yield, resilient earnings and growth potential, Reuters reports.
Units of HPHT were up 1.3 percent at $0.755. They have gained 21.8 percent so far this year, but are still down 21 percent since HPHT's market debut in March 2011.
At current prices, HPHT offers a distribution yield of 8.4-9.1 percent, higher than most other real estate investment trusts and business trusts.
"Its current depressed price provides a rare opportunity to own a resilient business which would also be a beneficiary of a global economic recovery," said Maybank in a report.
HPHT's ports have shown throughput growth of about 10 percent a year on average from 1993 to 2011, but even during the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, volumes fell only 1 and 4 percent respectively, demonstrating its earnings resilience.
CIMB Research raised its target price for Midas Holdings Ltd , which supplies components for railway projects, to S$0.63 from S$0.41 and kept its 'outperform' rating, citing expectations of more high-speed rail contract wins.
At 0126 GMT, Midas shares were up 1.2 percent at S$0.425. They have gained 28.8 percent since the start of the year, outperforming the FTSE ST China Index's 0.5 percent rise.
CSR Corp Ltd, China's state-owned locomotive manufacturer, expects to see high-speed contracts by the end of this year or the first quarter of 2013, which will benefit Midas, CIMB said.
Midas also has a strong balance sheet, relying on short-term loans and receivable securitisation to fund its working capital, the brokerage said.
Although Midas will be entering a capital-intensive phase when it starts construction of a new production facility, CIMB said its balance sheet offers some buffer in any prolonged order drought or liquidity shortage.