[ET Net News Agency, 6 December 2019] Morgan Stanley lowered its target price for China
Reinsurance (01508) to HK$1.3 from HK$1.4 and maintained its "underweight" rating.
The research house said China Re's earnings growth resumed in 2019, up a strong 42% in
1H. However, shares have not reacted to its fundamental improvement, and are still down
23%, making it the worst performer in Morgan's insurance space in 2019.
The company has lost 50% of its market cap since the IPO and some of its long-term
shareholders are likely reducing their positions. At 0.5x 2020E P/B, valuation has largely
bottomed but is probably fair considering its 6% ROE (return on equity) in 2020. It is
running at a 4% dividend yield, which will provide some downside support, but re-rating
can also be hard given its poor track record. (KL)