Noble drops as analyst support fades on loss, accounting report
SINGAPORE – Noble Group shares dropped to its lowest in a year in Singapore as two analysts cut their rating on the stock to hold, citing weaker than expected earnings and concern over a possible third critical report by the anonymous group, Iceberg.
SINGAPORE – Noble Group shares dropped to its lowest in a year in Singapore as two analysts cut their rating on the stock to hold, citing weaker than expected earnings and concern over a possible third critical report by the anonymous group, Iceberg.
Asia’s biggest commodities trading house closed down 3 per cent S$0.945 after falling as much as 6 per cent. Hong Kong-based Noble has now fallen 22 per cent since Iceberg released its the first report on Feb 16.
Noble is now rated a hold by five brokers and a buy by 11, from three holds and 12 buys before the Iceberg report. The consensus 12-month target price has fallen to S$1.37 a share, the lowest since May last year, according to Bloomberg data.
“We believe a near term re-rating for the stock will be difficult, given weaker than expected results, overhang from another Iceberg report, volatility in commodity and FX markets and the need to demonstrate a sustained increase in ROEs,” DBS Group Research analyst Mervin Song said in a Feb 27 report, in which he also cut Noble’s rating to hold.
OCBC Investment Research was the other broker to cut the rating to hold. BLOOMBERG