Brokers' take

Compiled by Anita Gabriel, The Business Times

COMFORTDELGRO | HOLD

TARGET PRICE: $2.15

NOV 13 CLOSE: $2.10

CIMB Research, Nov 13

Although Q3 2017's net profit of $80.1 million was above our estimate of $71.5 million, we deem it within expectations as the third quarter is a seasonally-strong quarter, and fourth quarter will be weaker.

Management has guided that the decision on the Uber tie-up will be completed by the end of this month. As per our expectations, management said the tie-up could go beyond the exclusive sharing of Uber's third-party app booking and could lead to a deeper foothold in the private-hire market.

We read this as the company possibly acquiring a part of Uber's fleet. We maintain our "hold" call pending final details of the Uber deal.

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COURTS ASIA | HOLD

TARGET PRICE (12-MONTH): $0.36

NOV 13 CLOSE: $0.335

DBS Group Research, Nov 13

Earnings in Q2 2018 came in 75 per cent lower at $1.5 million from a year ago on the back of a 1.4 per cent fall in revenue. This set of results was disappointing as net profit was less than half of our estimate.

We downgrade Courts Asia to "hold" with a lower target price of 36 Singapore cents from 49 Singapore cents and have lowered earnings projections by 23 per cent to 31 per cent to reflect the weak Q2 2018.

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ISOTEAM | BUY

TARGET PRICE: $0.46

NOV 13 CLOSE: $0.355

RHB Securities Research, Nov 13

ISOTeam had a strong start to FY18, with profit after tax and minority interests rising 54.6 per cent year-on-year.

The group's order book remained healthy, at $87.2 million last month. It also expects to add more projects from customers in the public sector - especially government ministries. Its higher administrative costs led us to trim our FY18F net profit by 5 per cent.

As a result, our DCF-based target price dips to 46 Singapore cents from 50 Singapore cents.

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UOL GROUP | BUY

FAIR VALUE: $9.70

NOV 13 CLOSE: $8.80

OCBC Research, Nov 13

The group's net attributable profits, excluding other gains, for the quarter increased 8 per cent year-on-year to $90.9 million, while third-quarter profit after tax and minority interests rose from $91.5 million to $639.7 million.

Apart from a turnaround in domestic home prices, management also expects office rents to stabilise ahead while the retail sector is expected to remain under pressure.

We update our valuation model for latest results and firmer assumptions and our fair value estimate rises to $9.70, versus $9.01 previously.

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