The Poste Italiane stock was little moved today, keeping just above 12 euros (+ 0.04% to 12.02 euros), close to the historical tops.
Since the beginning of the year, Poste has been among the best performers of the Ftse Mib with + 44.5%, behind only Banco BPM (+ 63.8%).
Towards the issue of a hybrid bond of 750 million
Poste has launched the roadshow for the issue of a callable hybrid perpetual bond (after 8 years) of 750 million euros. “We believe that the proceeds are used to finance growth by improving regulatory capital ratios and in particular we estimate an increase in bancoposta tier 1 of around 200 bps (vs 1Q21 19.4%) and in post-life solvency of around 800 bps (vs 1Q21 301%) ”, remarks Equita SIM which sees the bond having a cost of less than 3% for Poste. “We believe that the decision to issue a hybrid is a sign of good commercial dynamics with positive repercussions on net inflows trends for 2021”, adds the Milanese sim.
Meanwhile, according to what reported by Il Messaggero, in recent days they would be talks resumed with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) aimed at defining a new agreement for the management of Italian savings deposited at post office counters. The previous agreement expired at the end of 2020 and is in the extension phase. The new agreement would cover the three-year period 2021-2023. A month ago, on the sidelines of the presentation of the quarterly accounts, the CEO Del Fante had spoken of ‘good progress’ in reaching an agreement.
Coupon balance coming, analysts say buy
Among the next catalysts for the postal group led by Matteo Del Fante is the detachment of the dividend balance on the agenda next Monday. The coupon approved by the Poste Board of Directors is € 0.324 per share as the balance of the dividend, taking into account the advance payment of € 0.162 per share already paid in November 2020. At current prices, the coupon balance shows a dividend yield del 2,7%. The deadline is scheduled for Monday 21 June (payment on 23 June).
Among analysts, buy opinions on the Poste share clearly prevail with 85.7% of the total (Bloomberg data), the remaining 14.3% say hold and no one is positioned on sell. The average target price indicated is € 12.75, ie 6.1% above current levels. Among the most optimistic about Pote stands JP Morgan who last month said overweight with tp at 14.50 euros.