[Featured Stock] Woori Financial Group Shares Rise 4% on Expectations of Q4 Earnings Improvement

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Woori Financial Group is showing an intraday rise of over 4% amid expectations of strong earnings.

At 10:07 AM on the 11th, Woori Financial Group was trading at 14,500 KRW, up 3.94% from the previous trading day. The company hit a 52-week high on the day. The stock price reflects expectations of a favorable earnings trend supported by an improvement in the net interest margin (NIM).

Baek Doosan, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, stated, "The controlling net profit for Q4 is expected to increase by 62% year-on-year to 269.8 billion KRW," adding, "Above all, interest income is solid, and the bank's NIM for Q4 is estimated to have risen by 4 basis points from the previous quarter to 1.40%."

The possibility of a strengthened dividend policy is also positive. Researcher Baek said, "With the sale of a 9.3% stake in the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, the company has passed the critical point toward full privatization, and the shareholder return policy will be further strengthened," adding, "The approval of the internal ratings-based approach phase 2 in November last year improved the common equity tier 1 ratio by 1.3 percentage points, which is positive in terms of dividend capacity."