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JP Morgan reveals its top 5 stock picks for Singapore property in 2017
By Jude Chan / theedgemarkets.com.sg | December 12, 2016 : 3:27 PM MYT
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SINGAPORE (Dec 12): JP Morgan says it prefers developers over Singapore real estate investment trusts (S-REITs) going into 2017, even as S-REITs have outperformed both developers and the benchmark FSSTI this year.
Year-to-date, S-REITs have climbed 4%, edging out a 3% gain by the Straits Times Index. Meanwhile, developers have dipped by 1% in 2016.
“We prefer developers over S-REITs, due to rising interest rates and subdued operating conditions in most property sectors,” says JP Morgan lead analyst Brandon Lee in a report on Dec 8.
Moreover, Lee says Singapore developers are still trading at an undemanding 36% revalued net asset valuation (RNAV) discount, at 1 standard deviation below the mean.
Looking ahead to 2017, Lee says the office sector is expected to outperform due to its superior supply-demand and rental dynamics.
In addition, more restructuring and M&A are expected, due to attractive valuations.
“With weak operating fundamentals and overseas acquisitions persisting into 2017, we foresee current valuations continuing in the near term, which could result in more privatizations, particularly among small-mid players where P/BV averages 0.4-0.6x,” Lee says.
Meanwhile, asset divestments are expected to accelerate, mainly from industrial S-REITs which are rejuvenating their portfolios.
Finally, Lee says a revival of residential en-bloc could be on the cards as developers turn more active in replenishing their land bank.
JP Morgan’s top five stock picks for the Singapore property sector are CapitaLand, UOL Group, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Keppel REIT, and Ascendas REIT.
All five are assigned “overweight” ratings, with price targets of $3.65, $8.05, $1.65, $1.15, and $2.60, respectively.
As at 3.16pm, CapitaLand is trading 1 cent higher at $3.11; UOL Group is trading 6 cents lower at $6.16; units of CapitaLand Commercial Trust are trading 3 cents lower at $1.54; units of Keppel REIT are trading flat at 1.06; and units of Ascendas REIT are trading 2 cents lower at $2.38.
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