Jun. 26 at 2:35 AM
BofA Securities upgraded Nomura Holdings to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to ¥1,650 from ¥1,490, citing a more sustainable return on equity, improving earnings quality, and consistent growth in its wealth management and investment banking businesses.
The brokerage expects first-quarter net profit of ¥108.2 billion, marking a sharp sequential increase as equity-method income recovers, trading revenue improves, and several one-off charges that hurt fourth-quarter results disappear. BofA estimates annualized first-quarter ROE at 11.6%, or 10.8% excluding extraordinary gains, representing the third consecutive quarter of adjusted ROE near the 11% level.
The firm said Nomura's earnings are increasingly supported by recurring revenue sources, including asset-based fees, wealth management, and investment banking, reducing reliance on more volatile trading income.
$NMR $BAC