According to Hana Securities analyst Choi Jeong-wook, the firm recommended Woori Finance (trading at 0.57x price-to-book ratio) and IM Finance (0.44x PBR) as undervalued opportunities on July 20, despite near-term consolidation risks for bank stocks following recent gains.
Woori Finance has underperformed peers year-to-date but trades at what the analyst deemed excessively low valuations, with potential share price rebound around earnings announcements. IM Finance, meanwhile, may benefit from a planned 50 billion won share buyback, CET1 ratio improvements, and value-up initiatives announced in the second half, Choi said.