Founder Securities(SH:601901) Guotai Junan Securities·2024-08-24 12:38Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Accumulate" [6] Core Views - The company's performance in the first half of 2024 showed a slight decline but significantly outperformed peers, primarily due to the transformation and quality enhancement of its investment business [5] - The report maintains a target price of 9.54 CNY per share, corresponding to a P/E ratio of 34.6x and a P/B ratio of 1.66x for 2024 [10] - The company is expected to continue outperforming its peers due to improvements in governance and operational efficiency, with earnings per share (EPS) estimates for 2024-2026 remaining unchanged at 0.28, 0.30, and 0.33 CNY respectively [10] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - For H1 2024, the company reported revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders of 3.722 billion CNY and 1.351 billion CNY, representing year-on-year declines of 8.18% and 6.15% respectively [10] - The weighted average return on equity (ROE) decreased by 0.35 percentage points to 2.93%, aligning with expectations [10] Investment Business - The investment business was a key driver of performance, achieving a year-on-year growth of 13.5% despite a downturn in the stock market [10] - The growth in the investment business is attributed to the expansion of investment assets and a shift towards equity investments, with financial assets increasing by 20.9% year-on-year to 113.7 billion CNY [10] Market Position - The company is positioned as a mid-sized securities firm focused on wealth management, with ongoing operational improvements supported by the Ping An Group [10] - The report highlights potential catalysts for future performance, including the resolution of competition issues with Ping An Securities and the release of earnings [10]