JPMorgan lifts BAE Systems price target

JPMorgan Cazenove lifted its price target on BAE Systems on Thursday to 1,300p from 1,150p, after hosting the company’s chief executive and chief financial officer at its UK Leaders Conference.

The bank said it came away from the event "incrementally positive" on BAE’s investment case.

"BAE faces a decade of growth and visibility," JPM said. "It has strong free cash flow, which should mean it continues to pay an attractive dividend and buy back stock every year (which we assume in our forecast through to 2027)."

JPM noted that BAE has a five-year rolling business plan. The latest plan - just completed - sees 5-7% organic sales growth for the next five years.

"However, CEO Charles Woodburn expects similar growth in the following five years driven by the two major wins of the last 12 months: the GCAP fighter jet (UK/Italy/Japan) and AUKUS submarine (Australia/UK/US)," it said.

The bank said it also believes that BAE has a far lower risk profile today than in the past.

JPM rates the shares at ‘overweight’.