Askari Bank Limited (AKBL): Top value pick in Banking space – By Vector Research

<ul><li><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">Based on its cheap valuations AKBL emerges as one of the top picks in Pakistan Banking space. Our Jun-19 Price Target of PKR 36 implies an upside of 51% along with a dividend yield of 6%. Our liking for the stock is based on 1) attractive valuation multiples, 2) robust expected growth in NIMs and core earnings due to leveraged exposure to interest rate cycle 3) improvement in asset quality. AKBL is trading at CY19E PER of 4.6x, which is at a sharp discount to the market PER multiple of 6.6x for same period.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:medium;">AKBL currently trades at the lowest P/BV &amp; P/E multiples in our sample of top 11 banks in the country barring NBP, which is a state-owned bank. AKBL remains...