Woori Financial Group has high investment attractiveness... Raised target price (Kiwoom Securities)

Kiwoom Securities maintained its investment opinion "buy" on Woori Financial Group on the 26th, saying it is relatively more attractive than other financial stocks and raised its target price from 17,000 won to 18,000 won.

"Woori Financial Group posted 778.6 billion won in net profit in the third quarter, up 62.3 percent from a year earlier and 3.5 percent from the previous quarter," Kiwoom Securities said. "It is a very good performance that exceeds market expectations.".

"By sector, the bank achieved better-than-expected earnings due to strong interest profits and reduced provisions. Its margin fell slightly (-0.01%p) compared to the previous quarter, but it continued to increase by 2.4% from the previous quarter due to high growth in loans," Kiwoom Securities said. The card (6.8% QoQ) and Capital (11.6%) sectors also posted good profit growth, which are the main reasons for their earnings improvement.

"As seen in profit growth from the acquisition of Capital, Woori Financial Group is expected to continue to improve its profits by promoting mergers and acquisitions (M&A) based on increased capital," Kiwoom Securities said.

"Woori Financial Group is a bank holding company with a high portion of the best banking business, and is expected to have stable profit growth, and it is also positive that the sale of its 10 percent stake in the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., which holds 15.1 percent, has resolved the overhang problem to some extent," Kiwoom Securities said.

Reporter Lee Dong-hoon usinvestmentidea2020@gmail.com