PETALING JAYA: Analysts are expecting Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd
’s earnings for the third quarter of its financial year ending March 31,2026 (3Q26) to be flattish quarter-on-quarter.
This is because robust top-line growth and lower net credit costs are likely to be offset by higher operating expenses, AmInvestment Bank Research (AmInvest Research) said.
In addition, the probability of capital management initiatives remains low, it added.
AmInvest Research said following the bank’s strong price performance, the valuation now looks stretched at above one time price-to-book, limiting near-term upside.
“As such, we remain lukewarm on the stock and prefer not to chase event-driven price action linked to the potential DBS Bank merger and acquisition (M&A).
“Instead, we prefer Hong Leong Financial Group (HLFG) for its better capital return potential of more than 50%.”
The research unit’s valuation is based on 0.97 times 2027’s price-to-book post-rights issue. Notably, the stock has rallied strongly (35% and 65% versus rights issue price), leaving limited upside even if a tie up with DBS Bank Ltd materialises.
The potential tie up is not expected to be value-accretive, as DBS acquiring a 29% associate stake is unlikely to generate meaningful synergies or drive significant changes in fundamentals.
Instead, other financial names such as HLFG offer more compelling capital upside, driven by market mispricing and clearer prospects for dividend yield expansion.
