0244 GMT - Bank of Queensland's decision to restructure was likely a difficult decision for it, say Barrenjoey analysts in a note. Still, it doesn't see BOQ's changes as being a silver bullet solution. They come with very material execution risk and net interest margin remains largely out of BOQ's control, says Barrenjoey. On BOQ's revised targets, Barrenjoey sees that even if it does achieve them, it is unlikely to be able to achieve a return on equity above its cost of capital unless industry pricing dynamics improve. The investment bank stays underweight and sees BOQ as a higher-risk investment. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

0213 GMT - There is a risk that ANZ will be required to provide an enforceable undertaking to APRA to remediate controls, risk culture, governance and accountability issues, says E&P analyst Azib Khan in a note. This follows the regulator on Friday increasing ANZ's operational risk capital add-on to A$750 million from A$500 million in relation to conduct issues in parts of ANZ's Markets business. E&P sees that ANZ could provide an EU similar to that of Westpac's in 2020. "We believe Westpac's APRA EU has been one of the key driver's of Westpac'soperational underperformance over the last four years," says E&P."We see risk of similar multi-year operational underperformance for ANZ." (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

0142 GMT - While Medibank's FY 2024 resident policyholder growth missed the company's guidance, this has very little influence on earnings, says Barrenjoey analyst Andrew Adams in a note. He adds that this was more than offset by non-resident policyholder growth and ongoing benign claims inflation. "Further, the smaller and often overlooked Medibank Health division delivered 45% growth in operating profit, contributing 3% to the group increase," Adams says. With low growth assumed in consensus forecasts, and an undemanding price-to-earnings ratio, Medibank remains a defensive stock to hold, in Barrenjoey's view.(alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2309 GMT - Medibank has a target for its resident private health unit to grow in line with the wider system over FY 2025, something which Goldman Sachs analysts Julian Braganza and Brian Kim say they are cautious on. Although they reckon that customer give backs over FY 2025 will be of help. At the same time, GS notes that Medibank flagged as part of its FY 2024 results released Thursday that the health insurer continues to see non-resident as an attractive market and noted increasing focus across worker and visitor segments. The investment bank sees that a small improvement in group margins over FY 2025 could be achieved from non-resident unit growth, as its a higher gross margin business. GS keeps its "neutral" rating. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2258 GMT - Bank of Queenlsand'stransformation program is a positive long-term strategy, Goldman Sachs analysts Andrew Lyons and John Li say in a note, but they remain wary of both the high degree of execution risk and the potential for going over budget on investment spend. This is a partial driver for the investment bank staying sell-rated on the stock. At the same time, Goldman reckons BOQ's revised 8% target FY 2026 return on equity (previouslyover 9.25%) -- premised on a 56% cost-to-income ratio -- remains below its assessment of its cost of equity. The investment bank sees that these targets will be hard BOQ to achieve. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2243 GMT - Australia's S&P/ASX 200 are on track to fall at the open, getting a weak lead from Wall Street as investors anticipate a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell which may provide insight into the central bank's thinking on interest rates. ASX futures are down by 0.5%, which looks set to reverse Thursday's 0.2% higher close. In the U.S., the three main indexes closed lower.The Dow industrials Average fell 0.4%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 1.7%. Ahead of the open, Inghams said its annual profit rose 68%, but said consumer conditions remain challenging. Chalice Mining said it was implementing more cost reductions and reducing its board size. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

0648 GMT - Even the bottom end of WiseTech's fiscal 2025 revenue expectations for its CargoWise logistics were stronger than Goldman Sachs analysts had expected. The Australian software developer's guidance assumes CargoWise revenue growth of 31%-37%, which compares with the GS analysts' prior forecast of 27%. They see WiseTech's expected revenue skew toward 2H as boding well for the following fiscal year, and observe in a note to clients that the company anticipates growth from transaction volumes rather than price rises. GS lifts its target price for the stock 14% to A$104.00 and keeps a neutral rating. Shares closed 7.8% higher at A$120.39. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0640 GMT - WiseTech's larger-than-usual revenue skew toward the second half of its current fiscal year leaves Bell Potter analyst Chris Savage warning that February's half-year results announcement is unlikely to act as a catalyst for the logistics-software developer's share price. Savage points to WiseTech's forecast of a 43%-57% revenue split weighted toward the June half, which is premised on the timing of three new product releases. He tells clients in a note that the company's December investor day seems a more likely mover of the stock, suggesting WiseTech may give extra insight into the new products' growth potential. Bell Potter lifts the stock's target price 15% to A$115.00 and keeps a hold rating. Shares closed 7.8% higher at A$120.39. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 23, 2024 01:00 ET (05:00 GMT)