0201 GMT - Winsome Resources could significantly lower its capex outlook and approvals risk with the proposed acquisition of an unprofitable diamond mine for treatment of lithium-bearing material, Euroz Hartleys analyst Trent Barnett says. He tells clients in a note that Winsome's capex for its Adina project could fall to about A$300 million if it used facilities at the nearby Renard diamond mine, on which Winsome has secured an exclusive option. This includes the building of a road between the sites, which Barnett reckons would likely get some Canadian government funding. Euroz Hartleys raises the stock's target price 62% to A$2.11 and keeps its speculative buy recommendation. Shares are up 12.5% at A$0.99. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0139 GMT - Australian outdoor advertiser oOh!media gets a new bull in anticipation of the operating leverage it is likely to display through a cyclical ad-market recovery. Initiating coverage of the stock with a buy rating, UBS analyst Cissy Xu tells clients in a note that oOh's high fixed cost base should accentuate profit growth as revenue accelerates. She anticipates a broader ad-market recovery in the second half of 2024 and is looking for oOh's adjusted net profit to grow by an annual average of 13% through 2026. UBS places an A$2.05 target price on the stock, which is up 3.4% at A$1.7375. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0102 GMT - Metcash's hardware division looks well positioned to Morgan Stanley analysts, but they see structural headwinds facing the supermarket supplier's food unit. Initiating coverage of the stock with an equal-weight rating, the MS analysts write in a note that they are positive on the underlying growth profile of Metcash's Total Tools business and opportunities for further sector consolidation. Yet they think that supply chain and digital investments by major supermarket rivals Woolworths and Coles mean Metcash is less likely to be able to generate efficiency gains. MS puts a A$4.15 target price on the stock, which is up 0.5% at A$3.90. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0022 GMT - Wilson Asset Management chair Geoff Wilson indicates he plans to be more active on X, formerly Twitter, after seeing the power of some U.S. activist investors' social media presences. Speaking at a WAM shareholder presentation Thursday, Wilson called out Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square, who has around 1.2 million followers on X, adding he had started to work to build his own follower base around two-and-a-half weeks ago. Wilson's X account currently sits at around 280 followers, but he says his plan was to get this to between 80,00 and 100,00 followers. He adds that part of his plan is to "use that if we have to." Wilson called out WAM's activity on franking credit amendments, noting it had previously used a petition as "muscle to actually get things changed." (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2349 GMT - Macquarie cuts its EPS forecast for Westgold Resources by 34% after the gold miner downgraded FY 2024 output and cost expectations, citing in part the impact of heavy rainfall. The bank was disappointed by the downgrade because Westgold had largely held to its guidance range in mid-March. Westgold now expects FY 2024 production of 220,000-230,000 oz, representing a 12% fall at the midpoint versus earlier guidance. It also increased guidance for all-in sustaining costs to A$2,100-A$2,300/oz, from A$1,800-A$2,000/oz. "Despite the near-term impact we continue to anticipate production growth towards 300,000 oz per annum via development of Great Fingall and a Bluebird expansion," says Macquarie, retaining an outperform call on the stock. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2343 GMT - Following a record quarter for Ramelius Resources, Macquarie expects the Australian gold miner will beat its annual production and cost goals. Ramelius's 3Q output was some 20% above Macquarie's forecast, while free cash flow was A$44 million stronger. "We now expect group production of 286,000 oz at an all-in sustaining cost of A$1,685/oz in FY 2024," Macquarie says in a note. That compares to Ramelius's own guidance of 265,000-280,000/oz at an AISC of A$1,750-A$1,850/oz. Macquarie retains a neutral call on Ramelius's stock. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2339 GMT - Australian non-bank financials outperformed Australia's S&P/ASX 200 in March, say Morgan Stanley analysts in a note. Stocks with leverage to the rising market led the March outperformance, MS says, calling out Magellan, Netwealth and Platinum. Insurers, IAG, QBE and Suncorp saw modest outperformance in the month and the group is among the strongest performers so far this year, MS adds. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2335 GMT - Capex requirements for Regis Resources's McPhillamys gold project now look so high that Macquarie thinks they could be a real hurdle for its near-term development. Regis has announced an updated definitive feasibility study that estimates capex of A$960 million-A$1.06 billion to bring the mine into production. "In our view, investor focus will swing back to the existing business units where we expect Regis will generate 80% of its capex in free cash flow over the next five years," Macquarie says in a note. The bank removes McPhillamys from its base case for Regis, while retaining an outperform call on the stock. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2323 GMT - QBE's FY 2024 gross written premium growth could sit at around 5%, while its combined operating ratio is likely to exceed the insurer's guidance, say Macquarie analysts in a note. The investment bank says its GWP forecasts incorporate 5.4% GWP growth in constant currency compared with QBE's guidance of constant currency GWP growth mid single digits. "We estimate FX represents an around 40 basis points headwind to growth this year," says Macquarie. For FY 2024 COR, Macquarie forecasts 93.8% which compares to QBE guidance of 93.5%, noting its estimates include a further $50 million in reserve strengthening, while catastrophes are in-line with QBE's guidance of $1.28 billion. After recent strong performance, Macquarie downgrades QBE to neutral from outperform. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2140 GMT - Pathology services provider Healius is banking on a strong 4Q to achieve its earnings guidance, but Jefferies is skeptical it can get there. In a note, analyst David Stanton says Healius's Ebit is likely to total around A$67 million in FY 2024, below guidance of A$70 million-A$80 million. "We continue to note a subdued environment for Australian Healthcare Services, with an ongoing low GP bulk-billing rate," he says. Despite the likely earnings miss, Healius's base pathology Ebit margin is likely to have expanded in 2H by some 490 basis points versus 1H, says Jefferies, which rates the stock at underperform. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0407 GMT - Australia's major banks are on track to meet a regulatory requirement that they can minimize the risk of government bailout in the event of distress, says S&P Global Ratings in a report. Under Australia's total loss-absorbing capacity framework, the four major banks are required to raise their TLAC to 18.25% of risk-weighted assets by January 2026. "In our consideration, these banks are well on track to meet the regulatory requirement," says S&P. S&P still sees that the banks could be bailed out by the government if a financial crisis hits. One reason is their interconnectedness, in that collectively the majors have a market share of about 75% of the sector's loans and deposits, S&P says. "Allowing one of them to fail could lead to distress across all four," says S&P. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 04, 2024 00:00 ET (04:00 GMT)