Standard Chartered share price: Jefferies continues to see group as ‘underperform’

Jefferies has reiterated its ‘underperform’ rating on Standard Chartered (LON:STAN), citing a declining trend in consensus estimates, Sharecast reports.. The move comes as the Asia-focused lender prepares to update investors on its full-year performance net week.

Standard Chartered’s share price has fallen into the red in today’s session, having given up 0.50 percent to 612.10p as of 10:30 GMT, and underperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.09 percent higher at 7,185.71 points. The group’s shares have lost a little over a quarter of their value over the past year, as compared with about a one-percent fall in the Footsie.

Jefferies weighs in on StanChart

Jefferies reaffirmed Standard Chartered as an ‘underperform’ yesterday, while lifting its price target on the shares from 348p to 438p. Sharecast quoted the analysts as pointing to the declining trend in consensus estimates for the Asia-focused lender and the multiple hurdles which it was facing in terms of growing its revenues, which, the broker reckons, may necessitate a downgrade of management’s expectations.

Jefferies further thinks that the FTSE 100 group also needs to provide a convincing glide path as to how it is expecting to deliver returns greater than 10 percent within a reasonable time-frame.

Other analysts on FTSE 100 group

JPMorgan Chase & Co reiterated its ‘overweight’ rating on StanChart earlier this month, while Berenberg Bank, which is bullish on the Asia-focused lender with a ‘buy’ rating, lowered its valuation on the stock from 920p to 800p. According to MarketBeat, the Asia-focused lender currently has a consensus ‘buy’ rating and an average price target of 688.71p.

Standard Chartered will update investors on its full-year performance on February 26, concluding the FTSE 100 banking reporting season.

As of 10:53 GMT, Wednesday, 20 February, Standard Chartered PLC share price is 612.10p.