Heartland Bank dominates market

New Zealand shares were little changed in a quiet trading session while Australian investors were off work on a long weekend.

Monday, June 14th 2021, 6:17PM

by BusinessDesk

Heartland Group led the market higher with the S&P/NZX 50 Index rising 11.78 points, or 0.1%, to 12,562.17. Within the index, 11 stocks fell, 36 rose and three were unchanged. Turnover was light at $91.9 million.

Shares in Heartland Group Holdings jumped 6.1% to $2.09. Last week, the lending company raised its earnings guidance to between $85m and $86m.

Jarden analysts gave the stock a ‘buy’ rating with a target price of $2.30 predicting ongoing growth for many years to come.

“With the Australia and NZ economies in relatively strong shape, we take a more positive view on the near term but continue to forecast a moderation in growth rates from financial year 2026,” they said.

This Thursday, GDP figures for the March quarter will be released. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is predicting a small contraction in the economy while trading bank economists are expecting a small expansion.

Synlait Milk climbed 3.9% to $3.49, and A2 Milk rose 2.6% to $6.29. Both stocks have been trending upwards as they recover from deep lows. Synlait has risen 16% this month, while A2 has climbed 9.2%.

Forsyth Barr analysts today reiterated their ‘outperform’ rating on Skellerup saying the manufacturer was on track to a billion-dollar valuation. The stock closed up 1.1% at $4.75, having gained almost 30% year-to-date.

“We continue to view Skellerup as offering attractive value at current multiples, given its discount to international peers, continued execution on its pipeline of growth opportunities, and as it benefits from a favourable operating backdrop,” they wrote.

SkyCity Entertainment also got the tick of approval from a Forsyth Barr analyst who added 12% to her target price, bringing it to $3.85. Shares in the casino operator are already near this level, and today declined 0.3% to $3.59.

Z Energy posted the day’s biggest fall, down 3.1% at $2.56, following by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare down 2.6% at $29.13.

Last week, the NZ share market gained less than half a percent while the yield on a 10-year government bond dropped 20 basis points and is now sitting at 1.64%.

Liquidity in the bond market has been poor and the RBNZ will again taper its bond purchases for the week ahead, buying just $220m compared to $250m last week and $350m the week before.

The kiwi dollar was trading 71.41 US cents at 3pm in Wellington, down from 71.94 cents on Friday.

The trade-weighted index was at 74.25 at 3pm, from 74.59 Friday. The kiwi traded at 92.72 Australian cents from 92.78 cents, 78.39 yen from 78.69 yen, 59.01 euro cents from 59.03 cents, 50.61 British pence from 50.75 pence, and 4.5634 Chinese yuan from 4.5942 yuan.

Tags: Market Close