[ET Net News Agency, 9 April 2020] Morgan Stanley lowered its target price for PICC P&C
(02328) to HK$11 from HK$13 and maintained its "overweight" rating.
The research house said PICC P&C has also been one of the more resilient names, down 24%
year-to-date, supported by its continued earnings recovery. It finished 2019 with 57%
earnings growth.
Morgan expects it to be one of few names with positive earnings growth (8% on its
estimate) in 2020. Whilst share performance has been volatile due to low confidence and
concerns over elevated catastrophe losses (ASF, Typhoons) in 2019, these are one-offs and
will not derail its core earnings trajectory, Morgan said.
It expects PICC P&C's underwriting earnings to grow 2x with CoR (combined operating
ratio) down to 97.6% in 2020, helped by underwriting improvement in agriculture and credit
lines, as well as reduced auto accident rates as a result of large scale quarantine
measures. (KL)