[Edaily Reporter PARK MIN ] On the 15th, Shinhan Investment Securities lowered its target price for HyundaiEngineering&Construction(000720)by 17.6% from 170,000 won to 140,000 won, reflecting delays in nuclear power plant orders due to macroeconomic uncertainty. However, it maintained its “Buy” rating, citing a stable recovery in core business performance and a robust flow of new orders. Compared to the previous trading day’s (October 14) closing price of 98,200 won, the stock has upside potential of 42.6%.

Kim Seon-mi, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Securities, stated in a report published that day, “The stock price has fallen 26% from its all-time high due to rising U.S. interest rates, uncertainty surrounding nuclear power plant orders stemming from the midterm elections, and domestic market noise,” adding, “Since the company’s medium- to long-term growth potential, centered on nuclear power, was the core of its valuation, a rapid short-term recovery in the stock price may be difficult.” She added, “However, considering the upside potential from orders secured by affiliated companies, the downside risk for the stock price is also limited.”

According to Shinhan Investment Securities, HyundaiEngineering&Construction’s third-quarter consolidated revenue is estimated at 6.4325 trillion won, a 17.8% decrease year-over-year, while operating profit is projected to rise 107.2% to 214.5 billion won. This is in line with the market consensus for operating profit (214.3 billion won). Analysts note that while revenue slowed somewhat due to delays in the delivery of equipment to overseas sites, operating profit was sustained by improvements in the order backlog across various construction categories.

The impact of additional costs at domestic plant sites—a source of concern in the market—is also expected to be limited. Since costs related to emergency repairs have already been conservatively factored in, and even if the scale of claim settlements is reduced, the company is still expected to easily achieve its annual operating profit guidance of 800 billion won. In particular, with cumulative new orders for the first three quarters reaching 29 trillion won—already close to the annual target—analysts forecast that starting in 2027, when low-margin projects both domestically and internationally are completed, revenue growth and profit normalization based on existing business divisions will begin in earnest.

Shinhan Investment Securities forecasts HyundaiEngineering&Construction’s 2026 annual revenue at 26.6895 trillion won and operating profit at 921 billion won. It further estimates that in 2027, the company will record revenue of 29.0229 trillion won and operating profit of 1.2809 trillion won.

Analyst Kim Seon-mi stated, “Although the revision to our earnings estimates is minimal, considering delays in nuclear power plant orders and market uncertainty, we have lowered the target multiples for existing business units and the nuclear power pipeline by 10–20% compared to previous estimates, adjusting the Sum-of-the-Parts (SOTP) target price to 140,000 won.” “Since expectations for a nuclear-powered stock re-rating in 2027 remain valid, a buy strategy with a long-term perspective is necessary when the stock price corrects,” she added.