KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) climbed to a record high of RM28.34 on Monday on strong fund buying as analysts upgraded the consumer stock.
At midday, it was up 48 sen to RM28.30, giving it a market capitalisation of RM10.38bil.
At the current price, it is trading at a price-to-earnings (PE) of 32.05 times and forward PE of 22.79 times.
UOB Kay Hian Malaysia Research has a target price of RM33 for F&N with a buy call.
Kenanga Investment Bank Research has an Outperform with a target price of RM28.85.
UOB Kay Hian Research said in a research note that rhe worst is over for F&N’s beverage division as it reaps cost savings from the merger between the dairy and soft drinks divisions, and lower sugar prices this year.
Its dairy divisions in Malaysia and Thailand should benefit from falling milk prices since 2H17. Given the recent valuation re-rating at Nestle and the big discount gap, F&N is a laggard play.
“Upgrade to Buy with a higher target price of RM33.00, based on a 26 times 2019F PE, or a 25% discount to Nestle’s 12-month forward PE,” it said.