0226 GMT - Treasury Wine Estates' increased disclosure at its recent investor day is positive, as it may encourage investors to focus beyond the recently underperforming 19 Crimes brand, Citi analysts Sam Teeger and Keshav Parti say in a note. Instead, they reckon investors may focus more on the successful Stags' Leap franchise in the luxury portfolio, which may have been overshadowed by the recently acquired smaller Frank Family vineyards. "Further, the Luxury portfolio is growing at around 3 times the rate of the Premium portfolio, consistent with industry premiumization trends," Citi says. It notes that there has been scant discussion on cost-of-living pressures facing consumers, which underpins Citi's neutral call on the stock. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

0001 GMT - Macquarie's Macquarie Capital unit's revenue mix has been broadly balanced between fees and principal income but going forward principal income should become larger and stabilize returns as the company grows its private credit book, say Morgan Stanley analysts. At the same time, the unit's A$3.9 billion equity book has large stakes in infrastructure at A$1.5 billion, which MS thinks will see more resilient investor appetite. MS has an overweight rating on the stock. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2359 GMT - Super Retail Group's 2H earnings could exceed expectations thanks to strong spending seen recently in auto, fitness and outdoors categories, Macquarie analysts say in a note. The analysts tell clients that Macquarie's high-frequency consumer data suggests that consumer spending on auto goods improved in February. This looks positive compared with their expectation that the Super Cheap Auto owner's like-for-like sales and margins would moderate in 2H of fiscal 2023. Macquarie maintains a neutral rating on the stock and lifts target price 8.8% to A$13.46. Shares are up 1.5% at A$13.16. (stuart.condie@wsj.com; @StuartLCondie)

2350 GMT - Invocare has scope to fast track transformation, reduce costs and increase financial leverage under private ownership, Morgan Stanley analyst James Bales says. He tells clients in a note that TPG's takeover proposal supports his view that the funeral industry offers defensive demand, pricing growth and opportunity for consolidation. The premium implied by TPG's indicative offer of A$12.65 a share is small relative to the stock's levels of the past 12-18 months, but significant compared with recent closes. The proposal implies a valuation of 37.2 times fiscal 2023 earnings forecasts, which compares with 39.5 for what MS sees as the most recent comparable offshore transaction. MS has a equal-weight recommendation and A$10.25 target price on the stock, which is up 0.7% at A$12.15. (stuart.condie@wsj.com; @StuartLCondie)

2325 GMT -- Australian agribusiness company Elders' current share price presents an attractive investment opportunity, say Shaw and Partners analysts in a note. This prompts it to retain its buy call, adding that "Elder is a very well-run company delivering strong results in varied market conditions." The recent strategic investment in PGG Wrightson and acquisition of Emms Mooney, a livestock and real estate agency business, highlight the company continues to execute on its strategy and present potential opportunities to add shareholder value in the future, says S&P. It adds that while the recently announced retirement of its long serving managing director has added additional uncertainty, S&P says a capable new MD will be found in due course. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2329 GMT -- Xero's costs target is in line with Wilsons analysts' expectations. The Australia-listed accounting software provider aims to restrict operating costs to about 75% of fiscal 2024 revenue, which matches Wilsons' forecasts. This compares with average analyst expectation of 81%, they tell clients in a short note. The Wilsons team also anticipates fiscal 2023 operating costs at 79% of revenue, better than Xero's comment that it expects a figure at the bottom end of its 80-85% guidance range. Wilsons has a last-published overweight rating and A$78.10 target price on the stock, which is up 10% at A$86.62. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2324 GMT {Dow Jones]--Xero's redundancy program should reduce the accounting software provider's annualized cost base by about 7-8%, E&P Financial analyst Paul Mason says. Xero's elimination of 700-800 roles represents a 14-16% reduction in its workforce, but Xero carries relatively larger non-employee costs than a lot of other software companies, he says. Mason tells clients in a short note that Xero will likely reduce its cost base by about NZ$100 million on an annualized basis. E&P has a last-published positive recommendation and A$122.00 target price on the stock, which is up 9.5% at A$86.12. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1805 ET - Xero's attempt to improve profitability while still growing is seen as a positive by RBC Capital Markets analyst Garry Sherriff. His initial reaction is that the short-term pain of NZ$25 million-NZ$35 million in one-off restructuring costs will ultimately be worth it as operating leverage improves. Sherriff tells clients in a short note that the company's target of restricting operating costs to about 75% of fiscal 2024 revenue comfortably beats the average analyst expectation of 82% for the period. RBC has a last-published outperform rating and A$95.00 target price on the stock, which last traded at A$78.62. (stuart.condie@wsj.com; @StuartLCondie)

2244 GMT - Investors at day one of Macquarie's three-day investor tour of its Americas operations were focused on the effect of recently introduced legislation targeted at renewable energy and infrastructure, say Goldman Sachs analysts Andrew Lyons and John Li in a note. Each day of the investor tour is showcasing one of the three operating divisions in the region, with day one focused on Macquarie Asset Management. The company's management, Goldman says, views legislation changes as being supportive of its growth trajectory, but they note that the changes may take time to affect markets. "That said, recent changes are the first time the US has introduced very specific legislation targeted at renewable energy and infrastructure, which does play very well into MAM's US focus," Goldman says. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires