The share of National Bank is close to the 9.0-euro milestone and is at its highest level since the fall of 2015 while the upward movement is accompanied by an impressive trading volume.
All this comes in the wake of the 2024 financial figures, with NBG exceeding targets and reporting organic profits of 1.3 billion euros (+10%), a return on equity ratio of 17.5% and loan disbursements of 9 billion euros (+31%).
The next day
At the same time, the updated business plan includes high targets for the next 3 years, having as key pillars the resilience of net interest income, combined with the average growth of loans, which is estimated at around 8% per year.
As a result, the bank’s management expects strong and sustainable profitability (return on tangible equity ratio above 18% in 2027), as well as continued organic capital creation, even after further increases in distributions to shareholders, which will range at 60% for the period 2025 – 2027 (dividends and share buybacks).
As for the possibility of new acquisitions, the CEO of National Bank has not ruled out any scenario, adding that it “has the discipline to wait for opportunities in the market.”
Attractive valuation
Despite the recent rise in the stock market, the current valuation of National Bank remains attractive, given that the P/E (price-to-earnings) ratio stands at 6.8x, while the P/BV ratio is at 0.9x.
The average price-target of analysts is set at 9.8 euros over a 12-month period, which corresponds to a 10% upside margin – although it is not excluded that we will have a new “wave” of upgrades in analysts’ forecasts in the coming period.
