0132 GMT - South32's stock appears to be gaining tailwinds, according to Citi analysts Paul McTaggart and Ephrem Ravi, who upgrade the miner's shares to buy from neutral. They expect improved cash generation in 2H FY 2025, with a working capital unwind and lower unit operating costs on higher production. South32 is also likely to expand buyback activity and, by FY results, update investors on a possible sale of its Cerro Matoso nickel operation. "Investors would likely soon shift their focus to FY27 with yet higher production and our FY27 [copper] price of US$4.76/pound for EV/Ebitda of 3.1x," the analysts say. Citi's target goes to A$4.00 from A$3.90. South32 is up 1.1% at A$3.61/share. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0115 GMT - Computershare's price-to-earnings is well above its 15-year average, suggesting to Morgan Stanley analyst Andrei Stadnik that the stock's re-rating may have come ahead of schedule. He points out in a note to clients that the share-registry provider's margin income--interest earned on cash held for dividends--is likely to fall from 80% of pretax profit to about 65% in fiscal 2026. Stadnik says the stock is more sensitive to rate moves than either banks or insurers, with EPS growth into fiscal 2026 looking limited. MS lifts its target price 18% to A$36.60 but maintains an equal-weight rating on the stock. Shares are up 0.7% at A$42.875. ([email protected])

0047 GMT - High-end glass bottle manufacturer Saverglass is showing signs of life after a difficult start under Orora's ownership, but tariffs are clouding the outlook. Saverglass has its strongest order book in 18 months, driven by demand in North America for bourbon and tequila. "However, order book lift needs to flow through to sales and tariffs are now a complicating factor," Macquarie says. "Saverglass has production agility across its global network to manage potential tariff impacts." Macquarie has an outperform call on Orora, which is down another 0.2% today. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0035 GMT - Temple & Webster's first-half result gives its bulls at Morgan Stanley even more confidence that the Australian furniture retailer can achieve all its targets. They trim their revenue forecasts following a slightly soft start to the latest fiscal half, but still anticipate annual revenue of A$897.8 million by fiscal 2027. That's within touching distance of Temple & Webster's A$1 billion mid-term target. They tell clients in a note that factors including growing AI capabilities, balance-sheet strength and the home-improvement opportunity open to the company aren't reflected in the share price. MS lifts its target price by 41% to A$18.50 and keeps an overweight rating on the stock. Shares are up 7.7% at A$17.38. ([email protected])

0025 GMT - Origin Energy's dividend looks safe despite the drag on free cash flow and net debt from the forward sale of 30 liquefied natural gas cargoes from the APLNG project in 2018, Citi says. The cargoes are due to be delivered to Japan's Kansai Electric from 2025. "The price will not be today's market price, but the US$1.1 billion that was forward sold by APLNG," analyst James Byrne says. While that equates to US$37 million per cargo, there is no cash flow earned, Citi says. Origin's balance sheet is in good shape, meaning it can stretch its payout ratio beyond the minimum 50% framework to compensate for the drag on cash flow, Citi says; "A progressive dividend policy is likely still the right way to think about the outlook." ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0016 GMT - Treasury Wine Estates' bulls at Goldman Sachs think that the Australian producer needs to build market confidence in sell-through rates of its prestige Penfolds brand in China. The GS analysts are cautious on management claims that second-half Penfolds sales are constrained by supply. They tell clients in a note that their checks on retailers have uncovered discounted prices for Penfolds Bin 389, as well as parallel import products heavily discounted relative to official prices. GS keeps a buy rating and A$12.90 target price on the stock, but say more evidence is needed to justify a share-price re-rating. The stock is up 4.4% at A$10.97. ([email protected])

0010 GMT - Insurance Australia Group's reported insurance margin should beat the 13.5%-15.5% guidance range, reckons Citi. "Despite an apparent overrun in January/February, IAG's 2H weather allowance still looks robust," analyst Nigel Pittaway says. IAG's guidance assumes all of its A$1.28 billion natural perils costs will be utilized. Citi, however, thinks it will benefit from A$65 million of favorable weather variance across FY 2025. Citi, which has a buy call on IAG, expects a reported insurance margin of 16.1%. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2351 GMT - Mirvac's share price advances 4.3% after its 1H operating EPS beat consensus hopes by 7% and it gave investors more confidence around the outlook for residential property. Mirvac exchanged 947 residential lots in 1H, with 601 of those sales happening in 2Q. This sales performance was helped by the launch of the Harbourside project in Sydney. Citi analyst Suraj Nebhani highlights that Mirvac has another 400 conditional sales, which provides visibility about future revenue. "The stock has been weak into the results, and we believe the stronger EPS result as well as the positive sales result in 2Q, should see the stock perform well today," Citi says. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2343 GMT - Cochlear's lower-than-expected December-half services revenue represents a jarring miss for Wilsons analyst Shane Storey. The hearing-implant maker's services revenue was 14% lower than Storey had expected. His concern is that it comes just halfway through the likely product cycle of Cochlear's latest processor. Cochlear's services revenue jumped 29% in the year-earlier period, making on-year comparisons more challenging, but uptake of the N8 processor has slowed more quickly than anticipated, he says in a note. Wilsons is reviewing its overweight rating and A$345.00 target price on the stock. Shares are down 11% at A$272.34. ([email protected])

2143 GMT - Treasury Wine Estates' bull at Citi isn't sure what impact to expect from the Australian producer's failure to find a buyer for its budget portfolio. Analyst Sam Teeger is surprised that Treasury is going to retain its commercial portfolio and sees a range of possible outcomes on the business. He had worried that divesting lower-performing brands including Wolf Blass would be EPS dilutive, but now wonders whether retaining them could depress medium-term EPS growth. However, Treasury's renewed commitment could lead to improved performance, he adds. Citi raises its target price 6.8% to A$13.85 and keeps a buy rating on the stock. Shares are at A$10.51 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

2115 GMT - Australian property advertiser Domain should lean into its partnership with majority shareholder Nine Entertainment in an attempt to bridge the audience gap with larger rival REA, Citi analyst Siraj Ahmed says. He writes in a note that plans for increased collaboration with the media conglomerate, which owns 60% of Domain, is a positive. He wonders whether interim CEO Greg Ellis is able to make major strategic changes, or whether that will be left to the next permanent boss. Ahmed would still like to see Domain reduce its focus on, or even divest, its agent-services business. Citi raises its target price 1.6% to A$3.25 and stays neutral on the stock, which is at A$2.92 ahead of the open. REA is controlled by News Corp., which owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire and The Wall Street Journal. ([email protected])

(END) Dow Jones Newswires