T Rowe Price, a long-time substantial shareholder of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, has reduced its stake in the shipbuilder, taking advantage of a recent gain in its share price following FY2023 earnings that beat expectations.
On March 6, the US-based asset manager sold nearly 8.19 million shares for $14.5 million, or $1.772 each.
This reduces its remaining stake in the China-based shipbuilder to 235.64 million shares, or 5.96%, down from 6.17% it held previously.
Yangzijiang shares changed hands at $1.67 just before the earnings announcement on Feb 27 and closed at $1.84 on March 8.
On Feb 27, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding reported earnings of RMB4.1 billion for FY2023, up 57% over the preceding FY2022. Revenue in the same period was up 16.5% to RMB24.1 billion,
It plans to pay a final dividend of 6.5 cents, up from 5 cents per share paid for FY2022.
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As at Dec 31, its order book reached US$14.5 billion, including US$7.1 billion won in FY2023.
UOB Kay Hian's Adrian Loh, following the earnings report, raised his target price from $1.92 to $2.19, while Ho Pei Hwa of DBS Group Research deems the stock worth $2.10, up from $1.90.
