[ET Net News Agency, 24 July 2020] Goldman Sachs lowered its target price for PICC P&C
(02328) to HK$7.1 from HK$11.5 and downgraded its rating to "neutral" from "buy".
The research house said PICC P&C has declined 32% year-to-date, well below H-share peers
(-16%). Goldman attributed the underperformance to several factors, including (1) CBIRC's
announcement of comprehensive auto insurance reform, (2) investors' concerns about claims
related to flooding, and (3) resignation of the Chairman to become Chairman of China
Merchant Group.
Goldman believes most of these concerns are already reflected in the share price, with
the stock trading at 0.7x FY2020 book value and offering an 8-9% dividend yield. It raised
its FY2020 net profit estimate by 16% to Rmb24.5bn, reflecting the strong equity market so
far in June/July. (KL)