[E-Daily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] SKSecurities announced on the 17th that it is maintaining its “Buy” rating and target price of 970,000 won for HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES(329180).

Han Seung-han, an analyst at SKSecurities, "HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES has already exceeded its merchant ship order target for this year and continues to maintain stable fundamentals," and added, "For the remainder of the second half of the year, we expect the company to be able to sufficiently maintain profitability in the merchant ship sector beyond 2028 through a selective order strategy focused on LNG carriers (LNGC), Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC), and Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLAC)."
He assessed, “In line with the trend of naval modernization cycles driven by escalating global geopolitical risks, the U.S. Navy is considering the purchase of frigates from allied nations, and HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES is highly likely to enter the U.S. market to build U.S. combat ships in the medium to long term based on the ‘MASGA’ program.”
He also noted, “The company also holds a substantial order pipeline for naval vessels outside the U.S. (including Peru, the Philippines, Malaysia, Chile, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt), so a re-rating driven by momentum in the naval sector is entirely possible,” adding "We designate it as our top pick in the shipbuilding sector because it is the only stock that possesses all potential additional growth drivers applicable to a shipyard, including specialty vessels, four-stroke engines, FDCs (floating data centers), and SMRs (small modular reactors)," the firm emphasized.
He also added, “Once the recent labor union strike issues are resolved, it will present a buying opportunity at the bottom.”