Just Group to ‘outperform’ after H1 beat

by | Aug 15, 2023

(Sharecast News) – RBC Capital Markets sees significant upside in the shares of retirement financial services firm Just Group after the company smashed expectations with its first-half results.
The broker maintained its ‘outperform’ rating and 170p target price on the stock, which at 1125 BST on Tuesday was trading 1% higher at just 82.7p.

Helped by the recent rises in interest rates, the group reported an underlying profit of £173m for the first half, up 154% year-on-year and ahead of the consensus estimate of £162m.

The company said its Solvency II ratio – a regulatory measure to ensure insurers have enough capital to cope with worst-case-scenario losses – was 204%, up from 199% a year before and 2 percentage points ahead of forecasts, according to RBC, driven by markets and positive underlying organic capital generation.

“Just has also taken the opportunity to further de-risk the balance sheet, significantly reducing the sensitivity to moving interest rates; therefore providing an even more robust Solvency II position moving forward,” said analyst Mandeep Jagpal.

“This facilitates Just’s ability to take advantage of the growth opportunity in both DB de-risking (bulk annuities) and GifL (retail annuities), where Just has again demonstrated it is able to write new business at attractive margins (IFRS new business margin 8.4% in 1H23) and low new business capital strain (1.6% in 1H23).”

Related articles

Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley cut Burberry price targets

Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley cut Burberry price targets

(Sharecast News) - Luxury fashion brand Burberry took a hit on Tuesday as both Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank cut their price targets on the stock. DB cut the price target to 2,200p from 2,240p, saying it's more cautious on trends in China and in the US and is...

Redburn downgrades Premier Inn owner Whitbread

Redburn downgrades Premier Inn owner Whitbread

(Sharecast News) - Redburn downgraded its stance on Premier Inn owner Whitbread on Tuesday to 'sell' from 'neutral', with a target price of 3,000p. Redburn said consensus expectations for pricing versus 2019 are 20% higher for Whitbread than any other hotel group it...

Latest Articles

London close: Stocks mixed on global economic jitters

London close: Stocks mixed on global economic jitters

(Sharecast News) - Stocks in London ended Tuesday on a varied note, reflecting global apprehensions around the Chinese economy and rising interest rates, while the shadow of a US credit warning from Moody's loomed large. The FTSE 100 saw a modest uptick, finishing...

JP Morgan reaches settlement with US Virgin Islands over Epstein case

RS Group surges on Betaville report

(Sharecast News) - RS Group surged on Tuesday after markets blog Betaville pointed to "a fresh round of takeover speculation" in one of its latest uncooked alerts. Betaville said that people following the situation have heard rumours that RS Group, a distributor of...

Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley cut Burberry price targets

Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley cut Burberry price targets

(Sharecast News) - Luxury fashion brand Burberry took a hit on Tuesday as both Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank cut their price targets on the stock. DB cut the price target to 2,200p from 2,240p, saying it's more cautious on trends in China and in the US and is...

Join our mailing list

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive regular updates!

No Fields Found.
x