Public Bank shares hit record high on good figures
KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Public Bank Bhd rose to a fresh record yesterday as investors switched from their shareholdings in Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank).
Analysts said apart from becoming the country's largest bank in terms of market capitalisation, Public Bank's strong balance sheet, impressive capital ratios and high growth numbers were the added attractions to investors.
“Investors may (also) be looking at Public Bank for its dividend angle,'' said one analyst.
The stock closed up 20 sen at RM12.
Public Bank shares have been rising since the middle of March when it was trading at RM9.80 a share. Its uptrend coincided with the time when news of Maybank's interest in Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) first surfaced.
Confirmation of Maybank's bid for BII towards the end of March and the group's subsequent proposal to buy a 15% stake in Pakistan's MCB Bank Ltd further soured investor appetite for the stock.
Investors were turned off by the high price for the BII bid, and to a lesser extent the purchase of MCB Bank. They also found the prospect of a lower dividend from Maybank difficult to swallow.
The confluence of disappointing news from Maybank has led to its share price sliding from a high of RM9.92 on Feb 14 to RM7.85 yesterday. However, as Maybank's share price fell, Public Bank's shares went in the opposite direction.
Analysts said that apart from Public Bank's dividend of 75 sen a share in the last financial year against 60 sen a year earlier, investors were also pleased with the group's solid fundamentals.
One analyst said Public Bank's loans growth of over 20% on an annualised basis and its strong balance sheet made it a top choice among banking stocks in the country.
“Public Bank's business in Hong Kong, China and Cambodia is growing strongly,'' said one analyst.
The rise in Public Bank's share price has put its valuations at the upper tier in terms of price to book and price to earnings but analysts feel that the growth the stock has been displaying over the years justify such valuations.
Of the 18 analysts polled by Bloomberg, none have a sell call on the stock.
KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Public Bank Bhd rose to a fresh record yesterday as investors switched from their shareholdings in Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank).
Analysts said apart from becoming the country's largest bank in terms of market capitalisation, Public Bank's strong balance sheet, impressive capital ratios and high growth numbers were the added attractions to investors.
“Investors may (also) be looking at Public Bank for its dividend angle,'' said one analyst.
The stock closed up 20 sen at RM12.
Public Bank shares have been rising since the middle of March when it was trading at RM9.80 a share. Its uptrend coincided with the time when news of Maybank's interest in Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) first surfaced.
Confirmation of Maybank's bid for BII towards the end of March and the group's subsequent proposal to buy a 15% stake in Pakistan's MCB Bank Ltd further soured investor appetite for the stock.
Investors were turned off by the high price for the BII bid, and to a lesser extent the purchase of MCB Bank. They also found the prospect of a lower dividend from Maybank difficult to swallow.
The confluence of disappointing news from Maybank has led to its share price sliding from a high of RM9.92 on Feb 14 to RM7.85 yesterday. However, as Maybank's share price fell, Public Bank's shares went in the opposite direction.
Analysts said that apart from Public Bank's dividend of 75 sen a share in the last financial year against 60 sen a year earlier, investors were also pleased with the group's solid fundamentals.
One analyst said Public Bank's loans growth of over 20% on an annualised basis and its strong balance sheet made it a top choice among banking stocks in the country.
“Public Bank's business in Hong Kong, China and Cambodia is growing strongly,'' said one analyst.
The rise in Public Bank's share price has put its valuations at the upper tier in terms of price to book and price to earnings but analysts feel that the growth the stock has been displaying over the years justify such valuations.
Of the 18 analysts polled by Bloomberg, none have a sell call on the stock.
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