0355 GMT - Australian materials supplier CSR has attracted a good price from suitor Saint-Gobain, Macquarie says. CSR has agreed to a A$4.3 billion takeover at A$9.00/share in cash. According to Macquarie, that implies a 1H enterprise value-to-EBIT multiple of 16.1 times. "This compares to a 10-year average rating of 9.0x and previous peaks of 13.5x, so a good valuation," Macquarie says. It thinks the transaction is likely to proceed. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0351 GMT - Pilbara Minerals gets a new bear in Citi after its share price rose 10% over the past month on an improvement in sentiment toward lithium demand as users restock. In a note, Citi justifies its new sell call on the stock trading above its A$3.60/share price target. It previously had a neutral recommendation. "Pilbara Minerals is pricing in a spodumene price of over US$1600/ton versus spot of US$800-US$900/ton and long-term (real) consensus of US$1440/ton," Citi says based on its forecasts for currencies and operational performance. Pilbara Minerals is down 0.5% at A$3.86. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0300 GMT - The devil was in the detail of the 1H result from Johns Lyng, which carries out insurance-related repair work. Johns Lyng's shares slump 16% to A$6.05/share today, erasing all of the gains in 2024 so far, as investors overlooked an upgrade to its annual earnings view. In a note, Citi points out that Johns Lyng's new FY 2023 guidance for revenue of A$1.18 billion and Ebitda of A$136.4 million was largely driven by catastrophe contributions rather than its so-called Business as Usual, or BAU, work. "While Johns Lyng has presented sequential growth catalysts in 2H, we remain cautious on the extent of further BAU upside," analyst William Park says. A further negative came from the U.S. where Ebitda margins stepped down by 1 percentage point to 10% in 1H. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0248 GMT - Woodside Energy returned 80% of its underlying net profit as dividends in 2H, and Jarden thinks investors will latch on to recent dealmaking to assess the outlook for future payouts. Woodside's final dividend of US$0.60/share was above Jarden's forecast for US$0.47/share, and brought the total payout for the year to US$1.40/share. In a note, analyst Nik Burns says investors are likely to focus on "whether the recent Scarborough sell-down locks in an 80% payout ratio through the next 2-3 years." Woodside said this month it has agreed to sell a 15.1% stake in the JV developing the Scarborough natural-gas field to Japan's JERA for US$1.4 billion as part of a broader strategic relationship. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0009 GMT - NIB's 1H FY 2024 result can be mainly attributed to releases from its liability for incurred claims, say Citi analysts in a note. They reckon there may be more releases in the future, particularly if claims inflation stays relatively benign. While there are some challenges including the Midnight Health business, which continues to be loss-making, there are some positives with its Australian residents' health insurance unit's result looking reasonable, Citi says. The insurer's international insurance unit also continues to recover with accelerated growth in January, it adds. Citi raises the stock's target by 3% to A$8.60 and keeps its buy call. NIB rises 0.3% to A$7.75. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

Jefferies analysts Michael Simotas and Naveed Fazal Bawa say Coles's 1H result was very strong, noting that Ebit was ahead of their estimates and supermarket Ebit margins were better than expected. They highlight that Coles's supermarket sales to kick off the fiscal third quarter grew 4.9%, outpacing rival Woolworths, which reported a 1.5% increase during a similar period. The Jefferies analysts say Coles stock should perform well, but it may be constrained by increased scrutiny from politicians and regulators who are concerned about rising food prices amid elevated inflation. (mike.cherney@wsj.com; @Mike_Cherney)

0925 GMT - Compagnie de Saint-Gobain's acquisition of building-products company CSR is strategically important as it allows the company to build a presence in the Australian market, Equita SIM analyst Gianmarco Bonacina says in a research note. It would increase the French manufacturing company's exposure to the Asia-Pacific market to 8% from 5% of sales, boosted by CSR's strong track record that should help improve its revenue growth and margin profile, Bonacina says. CSR's real estate portfolio--expected to be monetized in the short to medium term--is worth at least A$1.3 billion and its indirect minority stake of 25% in an aluminum business will allow Saint-Gobain to explore options in the future, the analyst says. Shares trade 0.2% lower at EUR70.05. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)

0505 GMT - Suncorp's 1H FY 2024 result largely met expectations on its core metrics, with a small miss on the headline, say Citi analysts in a note. Still, the investment bank sees that Suncorp's fundamentals are all on track, with the general insurance top line growing strongly. Citi reckons the higher interim dividend should offset any market disappointment."Suncorp looks on track to achieve at least the mid-point of its underlying margin target for the FY, while a significant capital return should be forthcoming post the bank [unit] sale," says Citi. Suncorp's shares are up 3.5% to A$15.66.(alice.uribe@wsj.com)

0400 GMT - Price growth at Brambles's U.S. pallet business could be close to zero by the end of the company's FY 2024, Citi analyst Samuel Seow suggests. He points out in a note to clients that annual revenue guidance of 6%-8% growth implies 2H growth of about 4% at the midpoint. Given that 1H revenue growth in Europe, Middle East and Africa outstripped that in the U.S. by about 200 bps--and that volume growth is expected to contribute to revenue growth--he thinks that this implies price growth in the U.S. could exit FY 2024 almost flat. Citi raises its target price 8.4% to A$14.25 on improved revenue and Ebit forecasts, and keeps a sell rating on the stock. Shares are down 3.8% at A$14.69. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2024 23:02 ET (04:02 GMT)