Prudential a 'buy' ahead of H1 results, says Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank has cut its target price for insurance giant Prudential ahead of its results next week, but said the stock is still an "attractive" investment at the current valuation.

Ahead of the first-half results on 30 August, the broker refreshed its forecasts and, as a result, trimmed its target price from 1,550p to 1,540p. This, however, still implies significant upside from the current level of 963.8p, up 2.3% on Wednesday morning.

"Prudential will publish its 1H23 results next week, with the new CEO also to present his strategy - which we believe has taken a backseat in the shares in the current China macro environment," said analyst Rhea Shah.

"The shares have underperformed relative to main peer AIA Group and also UK Insurance peers in recent months. However, we continue to believe that Prudential can see exceptional sales growth this year and into next, with capacity for management to deploy for organic or inorganic growth if desired."

The stock, Shah says, trades at just.12 times 2024 estimated earnings (on a GBP, IFRS 17 basis).