0234 GMT - Westpac could use its excess top-tier capital to fund a special dividend, but it's unlikely given the geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop, Morgans analyst Nathan Lead says. He points out in a note to clients that Westpac has a significantly higher balance of franking credits than its major banking peers, and that its buyback activity has stalled. However, Lead adds that Westpac will likely restrict capital distribution to its ordinary dividend. He reckons this will fall 3% to A$0.75. Morgans has a sell rating and A$34.06 target price on the stock, which is down 0.7% at A$38.36. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0234 GMT - 29Metals reports a solid 1Q, "with incremental positives around asset-level performance and the balance sheet," says RBC Capital Markets analyst Kaan Peker. Golden Grove is the clear standout, he says. Copper production beat expectations and is running above the top end of guidance, Peker says. He adds that the "decision to defer development at Xantho Extended appears increasingly framed as risk management rather than constraint." RBC has a sector perform rating on the stock, with a A$0.30 target. Shares are up 6.8% at A$0.235.(rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
0218 GMT - Bellevue Gold gets a tailwind from a meaningful uplift in 3Q feed grades, which boosted production, according to MA Financial analyst Paul Hissey. "Importantly, head grades lifted to [circa] 4.7 grams/ton for the quarter," Hissey says in a note. MA had forecast 4.2 grams/ton. Hissey expects investors to like Bellevue's 3Q result, some key numbers from which were prereleased. "We maintain our positive thesis on the stock, with this quarter providing further evidence that the mine (and particular head grades) are trending in the right direction," he says. MA retains a buy rating and a A$2.20 target. Shares are up 0.2% at A$1.61. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
0217 GMT - Macquarie's commodities and global markets unit is identified by Morgans analyst Richard Coles as the likeliest source of a beat when the Australian financial group reports annual earnings next week. On the whole, Coles says Macquarie is likely to report a solid annual result. He also tells clients in a note that current volatility is a positive for its commodities and global markets business. He says the unit has historically outperformed during the periods of commodity market disruptions. Elsewhere in the group, Coles says Macquarie's private-credit portfolio will be closely watched by investors. Morgans has a hold rating on the stock and a target price of A$223.52. Shares are flat at A$231.85. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0140 GMT - Australian bank valuations are vulnerable to any further deterioration in credit quality, Macquarie analysts warn. They tell clients in a note that expectations of higher bad and doubtful debts at the country's four largest lenders have so far been treated by the market as a blip rather than a trend. However, they think that provisioning across the sector is not as robust as some assume. Adjusting for lenders' optimization of credit risk weighted assets over the past five years, they reckon that adjusted credit provisioning coverage is 16 basis points lower than reported. National Australia Bank and Westpac have already raised their provisioning ahead of their first-half result announcements. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0123 GMT - Life360's new bull at Macquarie sees potential for meaningful operating leverage from the tracking-app developer's advertising business. Initiating coverage with an outperform rating, Macquarie tells clients in an analyst note that modest advertising average revenue per user on a largely fixed cost base could help shift Life360's margins toward the company's longer-term ambitions. The analyst writes that there is upside to paid user growth from Life360's pet tracker product, while its data is deep and hard to replicate. Macquarie puts a A$32.20 target price on Life360's Australia-listed stock, which is up 0.8% at A$20.31. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0103 GMT - It's hard for RBC Capital Markets analyst Wei-Weng Chen to accurately gauge the impact of challenging trading conditions on G8 Education's annual earnings. The early-education provider is trying to mitigate the hit by suspending about 10% of its network, engaging in procurement and cost-saving initiatives, and reorganizing its support office. Chen tells clients in a note that the benefits from these measures are unquantified. Without them, he says G8's occupancy decline would result in a A$40 million hit to Ebit. Chen sees risk that consensus forecasts could be too high. RBC has a last-published sector-perform rating and A$0.50 target price on the stock, which is down 29% at A$0.17. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0102 GMT - Codan's positive trading update sends its stock up more than 15% to A$41.93, putting it on track to close at a record high. Codan now expects its Communications business to achieve revenue growth at the top end of its 15%-20% guidance range for FY 2026. It also said the division would achieve a 30% profit margin in FY 2026, a year earlier than previously thought. Combined with 2H revenue in its Minelab business tracking ahead of 1H levels, Codan forecast a more than 60% rise in annual net profit to around A$170 million. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
0054 GMT - Macquarie stays cautious about Karoon Energy following its 1Q performance, saying its ability to achieve annual production guidance is at risk. Karoon's average 1Q production rate at the Bauna oil field in Brazil was some 7% below that of the previous three months. Karoon recently took the field offline for scheduled maintenance lasting nearly a month. It also signaled a later resumption to full production from the Who Dat operation in the U.S. than previously thought. "While oil prices have been boosting cash flows, a recovery in operational momentum may be necessary for a re-rating," says Macquarie. It retains a neutral call on the stock. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
0048 GMT - Beach Energy agreed to a series of natural gas swap arrangements during the early stages of the rampup of its Waitsia project in Western Australia. Beach this week provided the additional detail on those deals, which pleases Macquarie, even though it retains an underperform call on the Australian company's stock. The swap deals total some 30 petajoules. Beach needs to return 14 PJ in kind. "Additionally, Beach currently holds a 7 PJ overlift position (to be reduced through production ahead of next scheduled cargo)," Macquarie says. This will boost Beach's cash flow and strengthen its balance sheet, giving it more flexibility to do M&As. "We suspect consensus valuations don't yet adequately factor this in," Macquarie says of the swap deals. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
0045 GMT - Middle East tensions are driving oil and natural gas prices higher, benefiting producers such as Beach Energy. Still, UBS retains a sell call on Beach's stock. "We see oil price risk skewed to the upside near term and flag potential for a cool Australian winter to consume current surplus domestic gas supply," analyst Tom Allen says. The latter would re-establish a link between Australian East coast wholesale gas prices and LNG netback prices, UBS says. This would drive gas prices higher into 1H FY27, benefiting Beach if it happens. Still, UBS says it remains cautious about the timing of an improvement in Beach's free cash flow until the Waitsia gas plant in Western Australia is finally commissioned. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
0032 GMT - Pantoro Gold maintained its annual production guidance in its latest update, but Euroz Hartleys thinks it could be a tall ask. Pantoro aims to produce between 86,000 oz and 92,000 oz of gold in FY 2026. That implies 27,000 oz is needed in 4Q to hit the bottom end of guidance, analyst Michael Scantlebury says. Given the company's recent quarterly performances, that could be a stretch. "We maintain our view that it will take Pantoro numerous quarters of production inline with guidance before it regains the market's trust," Euroz Hartleys says. Its price target falls by 10% to A$6.52/share. The stock is down 4.7% at A$3.22. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
2240 GMT - Australian stocks look set to keep falling when the local market opens, extending losses compiled over what is already its longest losing streak since June 2022. ASX futures are down by 0.4% ahead of Wednesday's session, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 could be on course for a seventh consecutive decline. The benchmark index fell 0.6% Tuesday and is down 2.7% over its past six sessions. Ahead of the open, gold miner Ramelius reported a 16% fall in quarterly sales and a 6.2% fall in quarterly revenue. Energy explorer Woodside is scheduled to publish its quarterly update. U.S. indices finished lower as shares of firms tied to OpenAI slumped. The S&P 500 lost 0.5%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%, and the DJIA slipped about 0.1%. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0520 GMT - Newmont's 1Q result "was exceptional and demonstrated the exceptional cash generation of the business," Macquarie says in a note. The gold miner's 1Q output and costs both beat consensus, while Newmont also upgraded its buyback. "We believe the upsized share buyback demonstrates NEM's commitment to capital return to shareholders (as opposed to looking to M&A)," says Macquarie. The bank reiterates an outperform rating and raises its target on Newmont's Australian shares by 1% to A$192. The stock is down 3.6% in Sydney at A$160.11, erasing some of Monday's 6.8% jump. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2026 01:00 ET (05:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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