0223 GMT - Plumbing-supplies manufacturer Reliance Worldwide keeps its bull at UBS despite a 30% jump in its shares since the start of 2024. Analyst Lee Power says that earnings drivers including margins and volumes are still improving, and suggests that the stock's discount to local industrial-sector peers is excessive. He adds that Reliance's Europe, Middle East and Africa unit is largely through its reset period and getting closer to a recovery that should offer significant operating leverage. UBS raises target price 20% to A$6.50 and keeps a buy rating on the stock. Shares are up 1.1% at A$5.755. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0135 GMT - Australian job vacancies fell by 24,000 between November last year and February of this year, signaling that hiring remains in retreat as the economy slows, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The number of job vacancies fell by 6.1% over the period. The data runs somewhat counter to employment data for February released last week, which showed that more than 100,000 jobs were created over the month and that unemployment dropped to 3.7%. Job vacancies are now 23.5% lower than they were at their peak in May 2022. However, they remain well above prepandemic levels and are still 59.8% higher than February 2020, or around 136,000 more vacancies, the ABS says. (james.glynn@wsj.com; @JamesGlynnWSJ)

0050 GMT - Premier Investments could structure the demerger of its Peter Alexander and Smiggle businesses in a way that minimizes potential dis-synergies, Citi analyst James Wang says. He tells clients in a note that the retail conglomerate may look at setting up a new entity to service the two businesses, which currently enjoy benefits including shared distribution and IT infrastructure. Wang also welcomes the clarity on Premier's various international expansion plans. Citi raises the target price by 19% to A$36.00 and keeps a buy rating on the stock, which is up 4.0% at A$32.31. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0027 GMT - Krispy Kreme's deal to sell its doughnuts at McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. highlights the sort of opportunity that could be open to Australian fast-food franchiser Retail Food Group, Shaw & Partners analyst Larry Gandler says. He tells clients in a note that e-commerce and wholesale markets represent a potential growth opportunity for RFG. He says that the owner of the Donut King brand could invest in a portal for corporate orders and e-commerce, alongside a logistics system to coordinate deliveries from its 200 locations. Shaw & Partners has a buy rating and A$0.10 target price on the stock, which is down 2.6% at A$0.074. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0008 GMT - Macquarie's site visit to Genesis Minerals's Leonora operation in Western Australia offered some interesting insight into the company's growth ambitions. Genesis said it had already improved crushing capacity by 15%, with crushing circuit throughput now some 25%-30% higher than the processing plant at Leonora. "Interestingly, management said that matching mill capacity to crushing throughput rates could be an opportunity for Leonora, with investigations into an additional mill in the early stages," Macquarie says in a note. Still, the bank continues to forecast annual processing rates of 1.4 million tons of ore in the long term. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2356 GMT - Washington H. Soul Pattinson's 1H FY 2024 results show that its investment portfolio performed resiliently, says Morgans analyst Steven Sassine in a note. The broker notes WHSP's management was active in the period, with around A$2.4 billion worth of transactions being conducted and net investing activity across the company's portfolio seeing net cash decline by around A$658 million. Morgans says it continues to like WHSP, particularly its track record of "growing distributions and history of uncorrelated and above market returns." Morgans keeps its add call and raises its target price by 2.4% to A$35.60. WHSP is up 0.6% at A$33.46. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2344 GMT - Metro Mining could beat production guidance, says Shaw & Partners, which also thinks investors may be worrying too much about the company's debt position. Metro is targeting an annual output of 6.3 million-6.8 million tons of bauxite, and Shaw analyst Andrew Hines thinks the company will hit the low end of that goal by end-November. That "gives Metro potential to exceed guidance if December is a strong month," he says. Metro's debt position is around A$100 million if it includes the Nebari royalty, which unsettles investors, Hines says. "However, if our 2024 forecasts are correct then investors can expect a material increase in cash flow, and the Metro share price, which will give the company significant flexibility to restructure the debt and royalty later in 2024," he says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2335 GMT - The benefits of Westpac's technology simplification will likely be hard for investors to quantify and will only emerge over time, say Morgan Stanley analysts in a note. The project called 'Unite' will run for five years from FY 2024 to FY 2028 and include 85 sequenced individual initiatives, MS notes. Westpac says annual investment spend will be around A$1.8 billion in FY 2024 and around A$2 billion annually from FY 2025 to FY 2028, with Unite accounting for around 30% or close to A$3 billion. MS sees the annual investment spend is in line with expectations, noting the five-year time frame and that Westpac has issued no new financial targets. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2317 GMT - Westpac's technology transformation program looks like a step in the right direction, but the result will not be known for many years, Macquarie analysts say in a note. Due to this, they see Westpac's execution risk valuation discount likely persisting over the medium term. The Australian lender's management on Wednesday announced the transformation program would cost around A$3 billion over FY 2024-28 and be mostly expensed. Macquarie expects an around A$300-350 million cost uplift from lower capitalization, which it reckons suggests consensus of around 2% FY 2025 cost growth forecast is too optimistic. "With many unknowns, we see a risk that the planned annual A$2 billion investment spend will not be enough," adds Macquarie, which keeps its underperform call. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2316 GMT - Westpac's technology project to simplify its technology stack is likely to prompt higher costs in FY 2025, say Citi analysts in a note. The investment notes a reluctance from Westpac to comment on group costs in an update call for analysts, which will be updated at the lender's 1H FY 2024 results in May, as well as the lender identifying the project--dubbed Unite--as a separate project. Citi reckons this indicates there could be headwinds to costs in FY 2025. A key concern for Citi, is the inability for investors to judge the project's financial and operational progress, as well as near-term effect on FY 2025 consensus cost forecasts. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2245 GMT - Australian fund manager Platinum's turnaround program prompts Bell Potter to cut the cost base in its model, with forecast annual costs in FY 2025 to sit below A$78 million. In a note, Bell Potter says this A$20 million expected reduction in cost impacts earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, and as such the investment bank's EBITDA forecast rises 3.9% for FY 2024. While BP sees Platinum remaining at risk from further fund outflows, it raises its target price 6.2% to A$1.20. A share sell off Wednesday looks to be "out of touch" as Bell Potter sees it. It raises its call to buy from hold on an improving risk/return trade outlook. Platinum was last down 21% to A$1.03. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2202 GMT - Westpac's launch of its IT simplification program dubbed "Unite" is an ambitious concept, but fails to provide enough certainty that the Australian lender's long standing IT issues are in the rear view mirror, says Jefferies analyst Matthew Wilson in a note. Westpac's Unite presentation on Wednesday was "light on detail, short on required investment," says Wilson who adds that "there is not enough substance in today's presentation to ascertain any credibility of the plan." With uncertainty over who will own the project if a new management team comes in, Wilson sees risk for the program to be "materially refined" in the future, but at more cost. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

0415 GMT - Westpac's cost-credibility issues may stretch through its FY 2024 results, say Citi analysts in a note. The Australia lender has provided a roadmap for Project Unite, its plan to simplify its technology stack. This is expected to drive group investment up to A$2 billion a year for FY 2025-2028, from A$1.8 billion in FY 2024, with Unite accounting for around 30% of the total spend, Citi notes. While the investment bank doesn't think the headline numbers will come as a surprise, it's concerned that it will be hard for investors to "judge the project's financial and operational progress, as well as near-term impact on FY 2025 consensus cost forecasts." (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires